Carnal Attraction
by SerenNoir
Summary: Gaara can't help the way he feels around the kitsune. How can Naruto make his socially reclusive friend realize that he needs to learn the art of discretion? Oh, and that he's not gay.
1. Disease

**Carnal Attraction**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: Between T and M**

**Comments: Okay, time to witness something that I have never done before. Juggling two full-length stories while maintaining my schoolwork and my sanity. This should prove interesting, don't you agree? I was going to take another stab at dry humor seeing as everyone liked _Letters to the Editor_. There will also be a mixture of angst in this fic so be forewarned. Set after Gaara's resurrection, if Naruto hadn't continued to search for Sasuke. For all those thinking that I am abandoning _Phobia_, relax, I still have that one on my drive and it's an ongoing battle for me.**

**Mood Song: Comatose by Skillet. **

**Disclaimer: A great genius thought up a incredibly amazing manga and called it Naruto. That great genius was not me. Sadly...**

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**Chapter 1: Disease**

_A disease. A burning. Fire flowing through his veins at speeds man could not comprehend. It was unfamiliar, this new want he felt, slowly taking root in the pit of his stomach. It made him want to gouge out his eyes and beat his hands upon the scorching desert sands. To climb to the nearest cliff and throw himself from great heights, screaming at the top of his lungs._

_But above all, it made him feel weak. It humbled him till all that was left was three words, forever frozen on his lips. He couldn't live like this; his people counted on him and he couldn't protect them if he was weak._

_So he sought out his release, traversing the expansive desert to make his sentiments known to a dear friend of his. _

_Did you really expect Gaara's first crush to be all peace, bunnies and rainbows?_

_XXX_

It was sometime after Naruto's eighth (or was it his eleventh?) consecutive bowl of ramen when Sakura asked him what he would do if a close friend came to him for advice.

"…If someone you knew asked about a relationship with someone else you knew," she attempted to explain to the puzzled teenager.

It was only when Naruto went off on a tangent about how he only saw Hinata as a friend did Sakura realize he didn't understand it was _she_ seeking relationship advice regarding the many proposals Rock Lee threw her way.

She left shortly after, giving Naruto a quick hug and tossing a wad of cash on the bar of Ichiraku. Ever since Sasuke's defection and Iruka having to work late at the academy, not to mention the sudden "yoga class" Kakashi-sensei claimed he was taking, Sakura was usually the one keeping tabs on Naruto's extensive ramen consumption.

At the rate he was going, she would be broke come Christmas-time. Even so, it felt good, almost gratifying, to be the one taking care of him and not the other way around.

Not long after they had parted ways, Naruto decided a walk would be nice, you know to tone his shapely body physique. Autumn had just begun and a light chill caused him to shiver slightly, zipping his jacket to his torso. He didn't pay any attention to where he was going and ended up in front of the training post where years of numerous young Shinobi trained themselves brutally and pretty much cursed the gods above.

He ran a finger over the smooth blood-stained wood, closing his eyes and imagining the burning fire one would feel in their muscles after an extensive day of training.

This was the price of a Shinobi, the life he chose since he was old enough to understand the concept and duties of a ninja. Pain and injuries came with the job, a perk if you will. He let his hand fall from the post to hang limply at his side.

Like often times it did, his mind was straying to his former ebony-haired teammate. What were Sasuke's views as a Shinobi, he wondered? Did he actually enjoy protecting and serving his village or was it all a hoax in his grand scheme of things; a stepping stone to his ultimate goal in life to kill his brother and get his vowed revenge?

Naruto shook his head violently to rid himself of such thoughts and begun to walk again, the dry leaves beneath his feet crunching with each step. It was useless to try and analyze his best friend's motives; his only main concern was getting him back. Then Sasuke could spend all day explaining his reasons.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to notice the blue-and-white clad figure approach him.

"Some Shinobi you are, an enemy could've killed you that easily."

Naruto jumped suddenly, startled to hear the calm, deep voice next to him. He stared down into jade green, vaguely amused that he was taller than Gaara by a couple inches (1).

"Oi, Gaara what are you doing here?" Naruto exclaimed in his too-loud-to-be-socially-acceptable voice.

"Kage business," the Sand-nin quickly and effortlessly lied. Naruto pulled a face at the mention of anything boring, I.e. anything that required him to sit still in a pre-determined amount of time.

"Okay, then why aren't you off…doing Kage business?" Naruto questioned, lacing his arms behind his head and quirking an eyebrow upwards.

"I needed to speak with you. Do you think we could go sit somewhere?" Gaara asked, switching his weight to his other foot.

Naruto sensed this slight change in body language and came to the conclusion that the other was nervous. About what, he did not know. Since when was Gaara nervous about _anything_?

The Jinchuukri led his friend to a nearby log, amazed at the appreciative glances the boy gave to everything surrounding him. He guessed death did that to you, made you stop and truly appreciate life's little things that you took for granted once before.

"What are you thinking about?"

Gaara's question caught him off-guard and Naruto sputtered audibly, not sure if he should tell him or not. But if Naruto lacked anything, it was tact. Not that he thought his answer would offend the Wind Shinobi. "I was thinking about you actually," he paused and then continued," and how utterly helpless I felt when you died."

Gaara grimaced slightly, the subject of his death obviously still a sore subject for him. "But you helped bring me back and it's all over now," Gaara reassured him, clearing his throat, "But really Naruto, I need to talk with you."

Naruto flashed his famous crooked grin and leaned forward expectantly. This quickly turned into shock when a blush began to form on the boy's face.

"Well, lately I've been having these really strange feelings and… and I don't know what to do. It's like an ache in my chest and it usually happens when I start thinking about y--a certain person. I thought the wounds on my heart had healed long ago, that they no longer bled?"

Probably much to Gaara's utmost surpise, Naruto burst out laughing, clutching his side in an attempt to ward off the imminent pain. Gaara blinked thrice, completely missing the part where his predicament was supposed to be humorous.

"S-sounds like y-you're smitten," Naruto finally managed to get out. He placed a reassuring hand on his closest friend's shoulder, squeezing tightly. Gaara shrugged off his hand and stood suddenly, pacing back and forth in front of the log.

"You don't understand. I don't know how to react around them, what I should do."

"Well, it's not your fault you're socially retarded," Naruto teased, ignoring the potent glare sent his way. "So who's the lucky girl?"

Gaara paused in his pacing, casting his seafoam orbs to the debris-littered forest floor. A light breeze rushed through the clearing, whispering in the boys' hair and the nape of their necks. Naruto shuddered slightly, both from the wind and the fact that Gaara wasn't answering.

His next words, when he finally did open his mouth, made Naruto stiffen with utter and complete shock, his mouth dropping open to sit and gape like a water-deprived guppy.

"_It's you, Naruto, it's you."_

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_**A/N: **_**So how was that for a first chapter. Love it, hate it?**

**Naruto Manga Spoilers:**

**Why is it that in almost every anime/manga I read/watch, someone, at least one person, has some sort of god-complex. Although, some of Pein's ideas for a "new world" actually make sense to me. Hey, he wants to end war. I'm up for that.**

**(1). Databook says they're both around 5'4" in Shippuuden but work with me please.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	2. October

**Carnal Attraction**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Sorry this chapter was so late in coming.**

**Mood Song: Chizuru by The GazettE**

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**Chapter 2: October**

"_It's you, Naruto, it's you."_

To say Naruto was surprised would be the understatement of the century. His train of thought had passed up Surprise Station long ago and was racing at breakneck speeds towards the Chasm of Paralysis.

Naruto had always imagined Sakura or some other kunoichi telling him they liked him, not some other_ guy!_ Least of all on that very, very, very short list would be Gaara. He was pretty positive he liked women, having been trained by the infamous pervert, Jiraiya. In Naruto's opinion, breasts were invented for the sole purpose of entertaining him.

Reverting his attention back to the matter at hand, he was surprised to see Gaara kneeling on the forest floor, his pale fingers sunk into the dirt on either side of him.

"I'm not sure what I should do, I've never felt something like this before," the Kazekage mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper. Suddenly, he flung himself at Naruto, gripping his jacket. Naruto noticed he was shaking and this terrified him more than anything. He had never seen Gaara lose his composure like this; it was frightening. It was so uncharacteristic, so...unlike Gaara.

He was unsure of what to say to the trembling Sand-nin so instead he brought him up to eye level. He had to tell him the truth even if it ended up hurting the both of them. "Um, Gaara I'm flattered that you care for me…in that way, but I'm not gay. I like girls."

Gaara blinked slowly, allowing this new information to sink in. He moved his hand from the Naruto's jacket to his hand, interweaving their fingers. "I love you," he stated calmly, fixing Naruto with his green eyes. The Jinchuruki ripped his hand away and stood suddenly.

"No…it's not right. You can't love me because…it's not right. Look Gaara, you're one of my best friends and I do love you just not in that way."

Gaara looked away, fiddling with a blade of grass between his fingertips. Naruto was torn. He didn't want to disappoint his friend but neither could he see Gaara in _that_ light. "I'm really sorry," he added as an after-thought before disappearing into the trees.

As soon as he was sure Gaara couldn't see or hear him, Naruto began to run. He paid little attention to anything else other than his steady breathing, the furious beating of his heart in his ribcage and the sound of his pounding feet reverberating in his ears.

Mixed feelings pulled at him from the inside, seemingly ripping him apart and leaving behind jagged edges that bled freely. He might have just lost one of the closest friends he was ever going to be fortunate enough to have. It was a painful reminder to Sasuke and it hurt. Frustrated tears leaked from the corners of his eyes but he didn't stop nor slow down till he was in the comfort of his own house.

It was only then did he realize he probably should've asked if the Hokage had worked out a place for Gaara to stay while he was here. But he was too exhausted to even get up from where he had falled prostrate on the bed.

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The next morning found Naruto sneaking out of his apartment, eyes scanning wildly for any angered sand waves gone renegade. He wasn't sure if Gaara was upset with him or not but that doesn't necessarily mean he was taking any chances.

Thinking he would be safe in the crowded marketplace, Naruto pushed through the throng, deciding he might as well shop for groceries while he was here. He was in the midst of haggling a shopkeeper over the price of oranges when something strong and gritty latched itself on his wrist and jerked him backwards.

Sand. Not good.

Momentarily losing his balance, Naruto spun and tottered forward, his hands held out in front of him to catch himself. But before he could make a lovely introduction to the ground, a soft yet unmoving body caught him and held him aloft. Naruto already had an idea who this body belonged to so he kept his head down, avoiding Gaara's serious gaze.

"You're not looking at me in the eyes," the chest rumbled deep beneath him.

Naruto wanted to spout off something sarcastic like, "No shit, Sherlock," but he held his tongue just for the sake of not wanting to anger the bipolar 16-year old. It was only when Gaara set him upright on his feet did Naruto allow his eyes to lock with those of the Sand-nin's. He held in his gasp when he caught sight of the bare emotion clinging to those green orbs.

The dark circles on Gaara's lids seemed more pronounced somewhat and the long eyelashes fluttered tiredly on the alabaster skin of his cheekbones. His Kazekage robes were wrinkled and soiled with dirt and Naruto was pretty sure he saw a leaf peeking out from the wild crimson array that was Gaara's hair. He had never left the woods last night.

"You look like hell," Naruto stated.

Gaara managed to narrow his eyes before, without warning, pitching forward unconscious. Naruto caught the boy, lifting him effortlessly in his arms and raced to his apartment, after grabbing the bag of fruit he had purchased. He found himself grimacing at the slight weight in his arms as if Gaara was nothing but knees and elbows.

It didn't take long before he was back at his apartment and lowering Gaara gently on his bed. He debated on whether or not to wake him to bathe and eat but quickly decided against it. Sleeping was probably still very much a luxury to Gaara, having been plagued with insomnia for so long. He pulled a quilt up over the boy and left the room, leaving the door ajar in case he woke and wondered where he was. Originally, Naruto had planned on sparring with Kiba but since he now had a guest, he resigned himself to the couch, staring at the TV rather than paying attention to whatever sitcom that was playing.

It was sometime during S.H.I.N.O.B.I. when Naruto dozed off, his arm splayed behind his head, fingers tapping idly on the side of the couch.

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Naruto jolted awake suddenly when he felt a strange weight shift above him. Strong fingers intertwined with his own that were still hanging over the couch arm. The smell of Naruto's body wash and a faint underlying of sandalwood assaulted his nose. Hesitantly, he cracked open an eye to see two identical pools of green staring at him intently.

"You're a heavy sleeper, it was difficult to wake you," Gaara murmured, shaking his head slightly.

Apparently he had made good use of the shower because Naruto felt cooling droplets of water on his skin, courtesy to the boy's still-dripping hair. Naruto stiffened beneath the scrutinizing gaze, realizing with a quiet sigh that Gaara was one of those people who were very stubborn with their feelings.

Gaara must have read his thoughts because he slid off slowly with more grace than any individual was allowed wearing an ankle-length robe. He even released Naruto's hand which he still had a firm grip on.

"Gaara…I'm-" Naruto began.

"Not gay, I know but…"

"NO, NO BUTS! I'm not gay, end of story!" he interrupted. Naruto immediately regretted his harsh tone when Gaara's gaze dropped to the seat cushions. "You need to rest more," Naruto commanded in a softer voice.

Gaara maneuvered his body to where he was sitting, facing the still-playing television. "I haven't been sleeping well lately," the Sand nin replied after a while. Falling silent once more, Gaara scooted to the middle of the couch and rested his head on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto stiffened but relaxed instantly; this was an innocent-enough position. He would allow Gaara this one.

It was a few hours later when Gaara decided that it would probably be best if he checked in with the Hokage, although he seemed almost reluctant to leave.

"Hey, we can go out to ramen later on," Naruto suggested, desperately wanting the frown on Gaara's face to take its leave.

The Sand-nin smiled wryly and suddenly brushed his thumb across Naruto's bottom lip before disappearing in a cloud of sand. Naruto remained frozen in his threshold, a wicked blush creeping up his neck. Frustrated at the teenager, Naruto slammed his door loudly, after saying a few choice words, regardless if Gaara could hear him or not. He was pretty sure a few of his neighbors could.

It was like teaching a child not to stick metal items in the electrical socket. Sometimes you felt like letting them do it just once, you know to learn a lesson. But on the other hand, you ended up paying the price by consoling the screaming child; not to mention having the ever-so-lovely shadow of CPS breathing down your neck.

Even so, he imagined what it would feel like. What would it feel like to allow yet another person to weasel their way into his life? He thought it nearly impossible after Sasuke. Then again, Gaara had a knack for making the impossible seem easy most times.

He decided quickly, right there, it wouldn't matter. He still had to take Gaara out for ramen, either way.

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**Author's Note: I know, terribly short and choppy but deal. I really want to jump back into this story because I love the pairing oh-so-much. But _Phobia_ is my major concern right now and intend to spend all my writing time updating that.**

**No worries though, this fic is not abandoned.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	3. The Burn You Cannot Feel

**Carnal Attraction**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: I apologize for the wait but school has been cramming me lately with the homework. I admit, I did take some personal time off from this story to think about the plot line and where it's heading. **

**Mood Song: My Curse by Killswitch Engage**

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**Chapter 3: The Burn You Cannot Feel**

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Gaara, Naruto found out, was not an easy person to treat to lunch. He was notoriously picky and scanned the menu at Ichiraku's a grand total of three times, finally deciding on a dish that made Naruto blanch. Salted gizzard was just not his cup of tea and after a quick glance at the quiet redhead beside him, he ordered for himself. Pork ramen; nothing new or extravagant.

"Naruto, I have come to the decision that if you continue to be persistent in not acknowledging my feelings for you, I will be forced to court you in they only way I know how."

It was bad enough that Gaara had uttered that when Naruto had steaming noodles half-way down his esophagus but worse still that he said it aloud. Having a deep voice like Gaara's caused it to carry a lot further and a lot louder than say, if Hinata has whispered it. It was only when Ayame began throwing them curious glances out of the corner of her eye, that Naruto tossed down a wad of money and dragged Gaara from the stand.

"You know, I was not finished eating. If there was somewhere you needed to be, you should have told me and we could have re-scheduled lunch to a different time," Gaara commented monotously.

Naruto decided right then and there, he absolutely loathed the precise way Gaara spoke. Were there really emotions behind the facade? "Why Gaara, why? Why must you say those sorts of things in public when I am sitting right freaking there!"

Gaara tilted his head to the side a bit, almost as if he was confused by the question Naruto was asking him. Naruto knew this not to be the case; Gaara was a intelligent, crafty little…person. "Are you uncomfortable when I say those things when others are around?"

Naruto seriously considered plunging a kunai into his own head at that point in time, wasn't the answer pretty much obvious? "Well, duh! Of course it makes me uncomfortable, because I'm not gay!"

His tone grew louder at the end, causing Gaara to wince slightly, closing one eye at the shrieking. Naruto huffed impatiently and began to walk away, back towards town. He felt, rather than seen, his redheaded companion shadow him back and winced at how those pale fingers seemed to clutch instinctively at his tracksuit.

He tried shaking them off once they reached the inner areas of the village, as there were more people here, but the boy just moved up suddenly next to him and took his hand. A middle-aged lady eyed them curiously, walking at a much brisker pace.

Naruto swung his hand suddenly, detaching himself from the persistent Suna nin. It was to no avail, as he latched back on again, this time stronger than ever. Heaving a frustrated sigh, he jerked his hand away and shoved them into his pockets, distancing himself a few feet from Gaara, just in case he decided he was going to be extra brave and jam his own hand in Naruto's pocket as well.

Gaara shot him a look of skepticism, looking a little hurt. Once they were out of ear-shot of any villagers, Naruto turned on the boy. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You are not allowed to touch me, understood? Shit Gaara, you would think you would show a little modesty or something…"

He was suddenly cut off as Gaara moved him backwards, his back pressed sharply against the stone wall of the building behind him. Probing green eyes stared into him intently, a slight frown playing amongst those pale features. Gaara tilted his head to the side a bit and Naruto noticed he was worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

"I had informed you that I was going to court you, in the only way I knew of. If you were so bothered by that fact, you should have made an excuse to leave or something. I cannot be blamed for my actions when I clearly warned you beforehand," he spoke slowly, each word as clear as a bell.

Warning bells of his own were going off inside Naruto's head as he realized the close proximity Gaara had put them in. Sandalwood assaulted his senses and he felt as if each pore on him were layered with sand. Pressing his hands against Gaara's shoulders, he pushed him back, causing Gaara to stumble slightly. Naruto broke away from the wall and took off at a sprint, desperate to leave the Suna-nin and his strange confessions of love behind. He was not gay; how many times was he going to say it?

Sensing he was far enough way to rest for a bit, he turned sharply into a narrow alley. He breathed heavily, supporting himself with his hands on his knees. He gave a squeak of surprise as a soft voice spoke next to him, his head shooting up and knocking painfully against the alley wall.

"It pains me to see you run from me; that you refuse to speak to me like a human being. I've had enough of that in my life already, I really don't care to be treated like that again."

"Gaara…" Naruto began but stopped, realizing that maybe he was overreacting a bit. He cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke up once more. "I'm not meaning to run away from you but what you're doing…well it scares me. I don't like boys in that kind of way, I prefer women. I don't know how else to make it any more clearer."

Gaara stepped closer, causing Naruto to press himself further back into the wall, but relaxed when the Sand nin only leaned against the brick next to him.

"Once, when I was younger, I found a baby hawk that had been abandoned by its mother. Its wings were broken and I knew it would never be able to fly, so I took it home and got Yashamaru to help me take care of it," his breath hitched as he mentioned his uncle's name, "Yashamaru said that it would probably die anyway because I wouldn't be able to feed it properly."

Naruto glanced askance, wondering why, of all times, Gaara was telling him this. He immediately shushed the voice in his head when Gaara picked up again.

"I tried so hard to save that bird that I wasn't able to eat when it started to slowly die. I felt such a great sense of loss, that the one creature who depended on me was dying still. And finally, when it did die, that sense of loss grew deeper still and I began to doubt my worth in the world."

Gaara kicked at a rock on the ground, toeing it back and forth over a crack in the pavement. "I want to be worth something to you Naruto. I want to be able to take care of you like I tried to take care of that bird. But, I'm afraid too, because I don't want you to leave me like it did. I don't want the one person that means the world to me abandon me; I don't think I could take that kind of torture."

Naruto felt hot tears well up behind his eyelids as he pushed away from the wall and began to walk away. Although the voice in his head was screaming at him to stay, he kept walking. "I'm sorry Gaara, "he whispered at the threshold of the alley, "but I can't be that for you. I'm going to have to walk away and I hope you don't hate me for it."

The walk back to his apartment was quiet, too quiet. He kept straining his ears to hear the soft, padding of feet trailing behind him but all he was met with was the wind gently swishing through the trees and the sound of a bird chirping up on a wire. He loathed himself at the moment, not quite believing that he just ended the most crucial relationship he could ever forge. He kept telling himself it was for the best, that leading Gaara on was cruel in its own way, but nonetheless, there was a sharp aching in his chest that seized him with its iron grip.

Sharp pressure weighed down on his lungs and he was forced to stop and lean against a telephone pole for support. Fresh hot tears streamed from his eyes as he slid to the pavement, creating dark spots of moisture on the tepid stone. A pain continued to build in his chest till he was tempted to let it out, his voice carrying high with his scream. He yelled and cried, wrapping his arms around the pole, clutching the only thing that seemed the most stable around him.

Because without it, he would surely fall.

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**Author's Note: That was probably pretty short and I can't say I intended it to be that way. I so did not look over this chapter so if you find any large mistakes, please inform me. This is the last chapter before the time skip I plan to put in. Stay alert for more updates. **

**Mask of Mirage**


	4. Before The Dawn Breaks Through

**Carnal Attraction**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: I apologize if I angered or upset any of my readers after that last chapter because of Naruto's treatment towards Gaara. I realize, yes it was mean of him to do so and that he should've known what it feels like but I wanted to stress the emotions he was feeling. **

**Mood Song: Hollow by Submersed **

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**Chapter 4: Before The Dawn Breaks Through**

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An orange blur shot past rooftops, its destination in plain sight. The Hokage would probably still be half-asleep at this time and on the grumpy side but Naruto couldn't have cared less. His only worries were getting there in time to try to salvage what relationship he had left with Gaara. As he skidded into the long hallway that led to Tsunade's office, Shizune bumped into him, sending a stack of papers flying.

"Shizune! Is the Hokage with someone right now?" Naruto panted out, picking up the loose papers with a speed that put even Lee to shame.

"No…Naruto, why are here so early? Lady Tsunade hasn't assigned any missions for you as of late," the young woman questioned, sighing at the hopeless cause that was her paperwork. She was never going to get it back in chronological order, that's for sure.

Naruto gave no reply choosing instead to push past Shizune and sprint to the Hokage's door. Without bothering to knock, as usual, he stalked in, throwing his hands down on the cherry oak desk, succeeding in startling a dozing Tsunade. "Baa-sama, where's Gaara staying?" he burst out loudly.

"I...quit calling me your grandmother! Gaara left for his village last night," she responded, her tone rising as well. Naruto's face fell at her answer. Gaara had left? "He said he had some important things to take care of back home. I didn't even know why he was in town in the first place," she continued, yawning audibly.

She noticed Naruto's downcast expression and placed a hand over his. "What's wrong?"

The dreary look his face had held disappeared immediately, replaced with one that was his usual self, bright and cheery like the sun. So fake. Tsunade noticed how no matter how much Naruto deluded himself into thinking that it was okay, his fingertips still shook.

And they shook the most right now.

* * *

**Four Years Later**

"Sakura-chan, your child keeps clinging to me!"

A bright, tousled golden head emerged from beneath the blankets, his cobalt orbs twinkling merrily. A toddler with long, black hair and captivating green eyes crouched on his back, her arms snaked around Naruto's neck. She giggled loudly when he suddenly flipped over and caught her in his arms, tickling her sides without mercy. The little girl squealed and kicked her legs in an attempt to get away from the man's fingers.

"She only clings to you because you buy her stuff all the time," Sakura reminded him, approaching the duo and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Naruto glanced up, out of breath, but a smile spread across his face nonetheless. "Isn't that what an uncle's supposed to do?"

Sakura shot an eyebrow upwards and shook her head, out of defeat. Naruto was wonderful with children; she should be grateful that her closest friend was spoiling her daughter so.

"When is Lee supposed to be home?" Sakura's expression fell at once at the mention of her husband. She always worried the most when he was on a mission.

"He should be back by tonight," she replied quietly, running her fingers through her child's hair. The little girl yawned happily and curled up in Naruto's lap, her small fingers toying with the hem of his jacket. Naruto placed a hand over his friends and shot her a comforting glance.

"He's alright Sakura, Lee is perfectly capable of handling himself."

Standing, he placed the small girl onto the bed and stretched his arms above his head. "I think I'm going to get going; I have some practice to catch up with Shikamaru and Choji."

Sakura walked him to the door, standing on her tiptoes to place a gentle kiss upon his brow. "Be safe, Naruto," she whispered, before shutting the door behind him.

Naruto walked quietly along the streets, his hands jammed deep in his pockets. Per usual, around this time in the afternoon, it was mandatory "Naruto-thinking-hour". And also like usual, his thoughts strayed to a certain redheaded Kage. He hadn't seen Gaara in closing on five years, assuming after his hasty departure that one night long ago, the Suna nin wanted nothing more to do with him.

A pang made its presence known inside him and he stopped to place a tanned hand upon his chest. How long was he going to go on like this? He had spent months after hearing Gaara had left in fitful sleeps; strung out on not knowing how to fix things.

Naruto hated loose ends of any sort, always having to fix those things which were broken to the best of his ability. So when a problem presented itself in such a manner, he felt out of sorts when there was no possible way he could fix it, especially since he caused such suffering in the first place.

Naruto had thought at the time that ending their friendship would be for the best but now he regretted it immensely. He missed the calm, outright way Gaara worded his sentences, even though at the time it had irritated him.

He was now 20 years old and still very much alone. For some odd reason, he began to deny the requests for a relationship he got from what women who did ask, and after awhile of his turn-downs, they quit asking altogether. He had never felt so alone as he did now, especially since most of his friends has already settled down and were working their way into having children, as his best friend had done. Sakura and Lee had been married for three and a half years and their marriage stayed as happy as it was when they first started dating.

What's more is that another best friend of his had finally pulled his head out of his ass and returned home, albeit after Itachi had been confirmed dead. Sasuke had been on house arrest for 9 months, during which Naruto paid him visit everyday, claiming the Uchiha would go bat-shit crazy with no one to talk to. The response was a mandatory 'hn' although the door mysteriously became unlocked each morning he came over. He was then put on probation for three years and only recently allowed to actually leave the boundaries of the village, accompanied, of course, by either his friends or ANBU.

Their relationship had been strained those first few months, Sasuke refusing to even look Naruto in the eye which often did upset him quite some bit. It was only after countless hours of pleading and yelling, that Sasuke finally owned up to the reason for such behavior. He was ashamed and couldn't bear looking into the eyes of the person he hurt the most. His explanation had been suddenly cut off as Naruto wrapped him in his embrace and assured him that Sasuke would always, and forever be, his brother, regardless of past mistakes.

If only he had forged that sort of bond with Gaara while they were together. Then maybe, just maybe, this would have never happened and they would still see each other. But wishful thinking only got you so far in life.

* * *

**Somewhere in Suna**

"Kazekage-sama, are you ready to leave?"

Slowly, Gaara turned from the window and leveled his pensive gaze on the attendant. The man shrunk back, perhaps out of fear, and exited the room quietly. Gaara heaved a shuddering sigh and flopped down in his chair. He had been summoned by the Hokage to talk about the alliance with Mist they were just beginning to create. Having them on their side would improve commerce and trade tenfold, actually bringing foreigners all the way out to Gaara's wayward little desert home.

Honestly, even though this meeting was crucial, he didn't want to go back there. Chancing the prospect of seeing a blond-haired, blue-eyed whirlwind that had succeeded in tearing a path into his life and uprooting all sense of previous reason.

Naruto had hurt him; though he would never admit such a thing. His complete rejection for the love Gaara held for him tore a hole through him and sat, festering in the pit of his stomach and eating away at his innards. He guessed this is what Temari meant when she said, "love was troublesome", but at the time Gaara had deduced it to nothing and told her to quit mimicking her boyfriend.

She hadn't seen the tortured expression on his face as he turned from her, or those beautiful green eyes mist over with unshed tears. And maybe if she had stayed a little longer, she could have witnessed the phone being pulled from the wall jack and chunked across the room, smashing into pieces.

Pieces that closely resembled how his heart would have looked like if he allowed it to.

But now, nearly five years had passed since then and it would be a lie if someone said Gaara looked a little worse for wear. He had managed to stay intact all this time and no one knew that every night he allowed himself to break down, his insomnia coming back to plague him.

He applauded himself for coming this far, especially since those first months after he arrived back home, he had to excuse himself whenever someone mentioned the word Konoha, lest they see his tears that betrayed him.

How can love for one person create such a monster in him? He much rather preferred Shukaku. His only source of comfort these days was listening to music, relating to the singers as they belted out their own woes and deceit. It made his problems less significant, somehow. Because he would give anything to make the pain less worse, or by some stroke of dumb luck, to go away altogether.

He slowly made his way to his door, where the same attendant before waited in the hallway, Kazekage robes and hat in hand. Gaara noticed with slight annoyance how his hand trembled as he placed the blue and white hat on, sufficiently hiding his eyes from view.

Time to go walk back into his personal sun and hope to whatever deities that happened to be listening that he didn't come out too burned and scarred.

* * *

**Back in Konoha**

Naruto's heart thumped erratically in his chest as he raced from the training grounds a few days later. His ankle was throbbing in pain, due to him twisting it during practice, but he ignored it and sprinted ahead, lacing his feet with chakra every so often.

He had heard. The Kazekage had been summoned to Konoha to speak with Tsunade. Finally, after five agonizing years, he would finally be able to lay eyes on the one person that plagued his sleep at night. The one person whom he felt regret towards, the one person who could fix the problems he had created.

He wanted so much to throw himself at the man and beg for his forgiveness, though he knew he didn't deserve it. He had shunned Gaara, told him to never touch him, a remarkably cruel thing to say to someone who was never allowed to touch people his whole life. And to think, he had said that when he was on the same damn sinking boat.

He noticed as he approached the Hokage Tower that there was an abnormal amount of Suna shinobi loitering around outside the doors. Although this surprised him, it was common to have so many bodyguards/traveling companions when you were at a position of Gaara's stature.

The man's name rolled off his mind's tongue smoothly and Naruto felt his stomach flutter at the prospect of seeing one of his closest friends after such a long time. He passed Hinata and Tenten speaking in whispers in the hallway, both girls sporting blushes.

"He's gotten so handsome…" Tenten whispered secretively, casting an acknowledging look at Naruto as he passed. Hinata giggled in reply, covering her mouth with her hand.

He skidden to a halt in front of the door, his fist raised as if to knock. As if suddenly remembering who he was and that the great Naruto never knocked, even if it was a highly confidential meeting of the Kages, he swung the door open, his mind working furiously to come up with an excuse for why he was barging in.

Tsunade looked up from her desk, annoyance flashing across her features upon realizing who was intruding in her discussion. Naruto paid her no heed as his eyes locked on the back of a fiery red head who had also stopped speaking as he heard the door open.

"Naruto, what in the seven hells do you want?" Tsunade inquired irritably.

He took a tentative step forward as the Suna nin stood from his seat, supposedly out of respect. His back straightened, the movement ruffling his robe that hung around his slight form. Naruto began to open his mouth, ready to spill out his apologies and lay his wrongs bare for everyone to see but Gaara turned fully around and faced him.

Naruto suppressed an audible gasp as he was met with a calculating gaze of seafoam green. Eyes that were as blank and lifeless as the face they were set on. Gaara nodded deftly and turned back around, reseating himself in his chair and continuing his discussion with Tsunade.

Naruto was at a loss for words. So this is how it felt for him, what Gaara had experienced five years ago on that night that ruined them. This is what it felt like to be completely and utterly shot down. Naruto's fingers twitched slightly as he backtracked out of the office, a stupid, fake grin plastered on a face that was breaking on the inside.

A dead moth crunched quietly beneath his foot.

* * *

**Author's Note: What was the famous quote? "_Someday you'll love me, but I won't love you."_ I hope that this chapter makes you a lot happier than the last. Once again, I didn't look over his so any large mistakes you see, please tell me.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	5. Touching the Pain You Left Me With

**Carnal Attraction**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Wow, I'm on some sort of writer's rush hour lately with this story. I don't know why but it's coming a lot easier for me than the first two chapters. I'd probably better shut up before I psyche myself out.**

**Mood Song: Time is Running Out by The Muse.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Touching the Pain You Left Me With**

* * *

Gaara stumbled slightly on the edge of his robe as he sprinted through the deserted back streets of Konoha. He had managed to lose his pesky attendants, a feat that wasn't all that hard. He could have just glared at them till they got the hint and left but the Suna nin was in no mood to glare. Surprisingly.

He had almost lost it when Naruto entered the room. It took all his willpower to not show any emotion whatsoever on his face and physically keep himself from launching at the boy and smothering him in a tight embrace.

He had told himself before he left Suna, that he was not going to let Naruto get to him this time around. He was going to act like it didn't matter and that he didn't affect him in the slightest. It was already proving a difficult task to bear.

Naruto meant nothing to him anymore…he had to keep telling himself that. He had to be strong; if not for himself, then for his people.

* * *

Naruto scanned the layout of Konoha from its highest perch. He rested his elbows on his crouched knees, his fingertips barely brushing the cement beneath him. From the rumors he had heard coming out of the Hokage Tower, an hour later, Gaara had apparently deserted his guards and was wandering around Konoha alone.

Naruto's village was relatively safe but the villagers might not be too thrilled to see a stranger walking around in their backyards, Kazekage robes be damned.

He saw a flash of white dart behind a building to his left and with the grace of any ninja, he hopped down from his hiding spot and took off after the figure. His sandals barely made a whisper as they came into contact with the pavement, his breathing slow and even. He had to take careful measure to not let Gaara hear him.

Judging the distance he would land in front of the man, he scaled the building next to him, sprinting along the roof. He landed on the other side, not inches in front of the person he was chasing. They gave a startled 'eep' and skidded to a stop, dust kicking up around their feet.

Naruto stood slowly, his eyes raising to lock with piercing green. Gaara still looked shocked but the emotion quickly cascaded into perturbed.

"What the hell do you want, Naruto?"

Naruto sucked in air quietly, surprised at the language that came from the Suna nin. Gaara had always been soft-spoken and calm, never allowing such brash comments. As if on cue, his mind went totally blank, now that he had the boy within talking range, he had no idea what to say. "I...I heard you were in town," Naruto muttered, quickly kicking himself mentally in the head for saying something so ignorant.

"Obviously," Gaara scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest in a very Sasuke-like manner. Naruto shifted his weight uncomfortably on his toes; Gaara was surely not acting like himself.

"So…how have you been?" the Leaf shinobi finally got up enough courage to ask.

He shuddered slightly as Gaara narrowed his eyes dangerously, fixing him with a cold stare. At that moment, Naruto decided, Gaara never looked so dangerous. Like any moment, he was going to pitch forward and wrap his pale fingers around Naruto's neck and cackle maniacally as he watched the life escaping from the blue orbs.

Gaara took a step forward and brushed past him, making sure to hit his shoulder on purpose, before continuing on his way. Naruto spun on his heel, his mind scrambling for an excuse to get the boy to stay.

"Would you like dinner, my treat?"

"I'm not hungry," came the stony reply.

Naruto jogged to catch up, his fingertips hovering above the other's arm. "Then how about a drink?"

"I'm not thirsty, either."

Naruto sighed in frustration as Gaara walked a little faster, trying to lose him obviously. Growling in this throat impatiently, Naruto tugged roughly on the other's sleeve, causing him to halt in the middle of the street. "How far do I have to go for you to talk to me!? I know I've been a bastard, believe me, but don't I at least get some kind of acknowledgement from you?!"

Gaara barely turned his head, ripping his sleeve from Naruto's grasp. "As far as it takes till you feel the same that I did," he whispered coldly, disappearing finally in a cloud of sand.

Naruto remained standing in the street, the wind whipping his hair around his eyes. Warm tears threatened to breach his eyes and trickle down his whiskered cheeks and he brought his hand up to wipe them away before they could fall. He wasn't much of a crier, but this whole mess was too confusing. He couldn't be so late, could he? There had to be still a chance to save their friendship. Taking off at a sprint, he headed towards to Hokage's office. She was going to give him the address where Gaara was staying, on pain of death.

He was not going to let it end here. He was going to fix things, even if it killed him. Time was not running out.

* * *

Gaara collapsed on his hotel bed, blindly kicking off his sandals with his feet, and hearing them thump loudly on the hardwood. It hurt to blow Naruto off like that but he had to keep telling himself it was for the best. Shinobi were not allowed to feel weak and he felt the most weak when he was in the presence of the other ninja.

Fishing around in one of his inner pockets, he pulled out his iPod and jammed the earpieces in his ears. Music always calmed him down, ever since he was a young child and Yashamaru sang to him while making breakfast for him and his siblings. His thumb traced the touch pad, scanning his music selection for a calming song to listen to while he attempted to relax his emotions.

Contrary to popular belief, he was not fond of heavy, screamo music most people would associate with his personality. He was more into indie rock than anything. He paused on a song played by _Placebo_ and quietly spoke along with the lyrics as they flowed softly into his ears.

"I'd freeze us both in time, and find a brand new way of seeing, your eyes forever glued to mine," he murmured quietly, not even startling when he heard a soft thump outside his window.

Naruto was stubborn, if anything, and it was one of the many traits Gaara admired in him. So, he couldn't really be all that mad when he came stumbling into his room --via window-- and flopped down next to him on the bed, resting his chin on his fist.

"We really need to talk, Gaara, whether you want to or not," he took a deep breath and began very softly. "First, I would like to say I'm incredibly sorry and that one word really doesn't do it justice, does it? I acted like a complete bastard and ought to be run through for saying those things to you."

Gaara remained motionless, his face still blank as he stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't let Naruto see the effect his apology was having on him. He was stronger than this.

"I never wanted to lose contact with you and I totally deserve what you said earlier. You're one of my best friends, Gaara. I don't want to lose that, so please, please say you forgive me."

When there came no reply, Naruto let his face fall forward onto the bed and sighed heavily into the blankets. "At least say you'll talk to me."

Gaara finally turned his icy gaze on him, blinking slowly. Slowly he raised his hand up, as if to touch Naruto's shoulder in acceptance. He saw Naruto breathe a sigh of relief. Narrowing his eyes, he balled his fist up and made a straight bee-line for the side of the boy's face.

Naruto gave a yelp of surprise and shot up, holding his left cheek with one hand and pointing an accusatory finger at Gaara with the other. Although his face scrunched up in confusion, it was quickly replaced with a wide grin and he burst out laughing, his golden hair whipping back and forth as he shook his head in amusement.

"For such a tiny guy, you can sure pack a punch," he giggled, flopping back down, Indian-style, on the bed. Gaara looked at him with mild amusement; it was proving hard to stay angry in his presence. He idly traced a patter on the duvet, casting his eyes downward.

"I really am sorry," Naruto muttered once more, rubbing his stinging cheek. After a moment's thought, he extended it in Gaara's direction.

The Sand nin stared at the hand, marveling at how tan it was compared to his own. Slowly, cautiously, he pushed his own hand forward till it was caught in the warm embrace of a friendly handshake. He ignored the jolts of electricity that shot down his spine as Naruto's touch sent thrills through his body. Pulling his arm back quickly, he sat up on the bed, switching his iPod off and winding the earphones around the plastic. Nothing had changed; he was still very much as smitten with Naruto as he was when he started out.

"I'll try this, okay. I'm not promising anything. I put myself out on a limb last time and you saw where that got me." He noticed Naruto's eyes take on a guilty expression. "And I know, so don't try to convince me otherwise, that your feelings for me have not changed since five years ago. Things aren't going to be the same between us, we both know that, and it's all because I opened by big mouth."

Gaara was surprised to feel a pair of strong arms encircle him and bring him flush against an equally strong and warm body. He could feel Naruto's smile in his hair and he allowed a small smile grace his features as well. "I'm going to make this better; somehow I'll fix it," Naruto murmured, squeezing tighter.

Gaara allowed himself to sink into the embrace, knowing full well this could be the extent of Naruto's physical affection towards him. A thought surfaced in his head and he suddenly developed a crafty plan. He was going to make sure Naruto would never hug him as a friend would again. Because the next time he would hug him, it would be as a lover would.

Maybe the philosophers got it all wrong, maybe love wasn't the worst disease on the planet. Maybe determination was.

* * *

**Author's Note: So yea, not very long but I thought it would be best to end it right there. So, it seems Naruto has a chance, or does he?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Blind by Placebo nor any of the music references I make in future chapters. I think it goes without saying that I don't own Naruto.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	6. This is Only the Beginning

**Carnal Attraction**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: As I thought I would, I psyched myself out of my gracious writer's rush. Insert me blowing air heavily out my nose. I knew it had to end sometime, I just wish it would have allowed me to shoot out a few more chapters for you guys.**

**Mood Song: Tainted Love by Marilyn Manson**

* * *

**Chapter 6: This is Only the Beginning **

* * *

Naruto awoke the following morning feeling light and airy, a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long while. As he gulped down his cereal, all he could think of was spending the most possible time with a redheaded Suna Shinobi. He was determined to set things right between them; it was one of those blinding urges that often frequented Naruto's psyche.

His plans for the day included him treating Gaara to all Konoha had to offer; on the Leaf Shinobi's expense, of course. There was a small festival taking place at the Hyuuga compound and come hell-fire and brimstone, he wasn't going to miss it.

Naruto dug through his closet for his black kimono, the only non-orange attire he owned. The sleeves and obi were a deep gold and Naruto knew it accentuated the highlights in his hair beautifully. Not that he cared much about his appearance, oh no, but Sakura often made his personal appearance and hygeine a high point in her life. He quickly ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it up and sifting through tangles, attempting to put it in some semblance of order.

He was more than a little surprised to see Gaara leaning casually against his balcony as he locked his front door behind him.

"I had a feeling you would come and get me today so I saved you some trouble," he explained coolly. "Why are you so dolled up?"

Having been flustered from the Kazekage showing up unexpectedly, Naruto racked his brain for a witty comeback. "Why are you so underdressed?" he replied, his brain temporarily taking leave. Gaara shot him a questioning look before rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sort of required to wear this," he mumbled, pulling on the edge of his Kage robe.

Naruto blushed at his own moment of idiocy and fiddled with the hems of his sleeves, a major habit he possessed when he was nervous. "Well, I was actually wondering, hoping really, that you would like to go with me to the festival the Hyuuga's are holding?" He noticed the slight smirk showing on the pale boy's features and instantly bristled, crossing his arms defiantly.

There was no reason for him to be teasing him, especially since he was trying so hard to fix things between them. Standing his ground, he glared at Gaara, watching with a sort of sick fascination as the smirk quickly left the other's face and he was met with the infamous Sabaku stare. They continued this for a good moment until finally Gaara sighed quietly beneath his breath and began the trek down Naruto's steep stairs.

"It's a date then," he called back over his shoulder.

Naruto stood rooted to his spot, his eyes transfixed to the back of the bobbing fiery shag as the owner descended down the stairs. A date? Surely Gaara was not thinking such preposterous things already, not this soon after they were on speaking terms? Was this some sort of sick game of cat and mouse the other was playing?

Slowly, he followed Gaara through town, too despondent to really pay attention when they finally reached the gates of the Hyuuga complex. Gaara nudged his arm gently, propelling him forward and waking him from his dream-like state. The air was filled with the shouts of happy people and the smells and sounds of a typical spring festival.

He thought he felt a soft tug on the back of his obi, but he wasn't too sure and by the way he was accosted quickly by a large group of milky-eyed children, it seemed he would have to look into it later.

Because Neji was sweeping toward them in a long, high strides and the elder man had the regal appearance to stop people in their tracks and his demeanor pretty much called for respect, whether you delivered it or not.

* * *

Gaara had known what affect his words would have on Naruto but he didn't expect that the shinobi would be so bothered by it that he would stumble along behind him in a half-comatose state, ignoring the side comments Gaara would make about the weather.

He knew Naruto would wonder why he was making such assumptions but he thought, for sure, that Naruto would see through such ploys and only realize that the Suna nin was joking. It truly was a wonder, sometimes, how Naruto ever managed to become a ninja, let alone, a Jounin.

Just to tweak the boy's already flustered state, he tugged discreetly at the golden obi Naruto wore around his waist. Naruto merely inclined his head sideways in suspicion as a group of children ran up to them, giggling and talking loudly.

They immediately quieted down somewhat when a tall, long-haired man strode up to them, his Hyuuga clan symbol stitched neatly onto his haori. Gaara vaguely remembered the man from the Chuunin exams as the kid Naruto fought in the finals and won against. At the time, the older kid had greatly annoyed him simply because he kept on ranting on and on about his pre-set destiny instead of spilling some much-needed blood, which was what Gaara had craved all along back then during that time.

Naruto bowed slightly, remembering his place and Gaara merely nodded his head respectfully. The rank of Kage had its advantages. Neji's milk-white orbs rested just a bit longer on him and he glared back, not liking the way the Hyuuga was staring at him with a interested expression. A sense of foreboding settled quickly in his stomach as the man gave a noise of approval, barely audible, before turning his attention back to Naruto.

"I see you've decided to join our festivities," he remarked with a deep, sultry voice.

"Yeah, in fact, I'm starving! Where are you hording the food, Neji!?"

Gaara rolled his eyes dismissively, knowing full well that Naruto had probably eaten before he had left his apartment. Neji motioned for them to follow him and they were led through the crowd to a small stand serving onigiri. Naruto shamelessly attacked the stand as if he hadn't eaten for days, causing the two other males to gape in astonishment; well they would've if they both weren't too proud to do those sorts of things.

Gaara shifted uncomfortably beneath his robe as Neji came and stood beside him, seemingly taking a clinical view of Naruto's eating habits. The male next to him was a good two feet taller than him and Gaara had to resist the urge to stand on his tiptoes to make him feel more equal; that would have been a very childish thing to do.

"I'm sorry but I've seem to have forgotten your name, Kazekage-sama," Neji spoke suddenly, turning to face him. Gaara bowed awkwardly, caught off guard.

"Sabaku no Gaara," he murmured, inwardly shrinking away at the bordering-on-creepy smile Neji was staring at him with. The man bowed back, his long hair falling past his shoulders and grazing the tops of this thighs. Gaara suppressed the very infantile urge to touch it just to see if it was really as soft as it looked. "Neji Hyuuga."

Neji straightened, a smile still playing on his features. Gaara was a little put off that he had to crane his neck to meet the other's eyes and the position of the sun behind the older man's head was not making his job any easier. Neji chuckled at the sight of him squinting into the harsh glare.

"You're a short little thing, aren't you?"

Gaara bristled, not fond of being called dwarfish by this stranger. He had always been very defensive of his size, often seeing it as an obstacle he had to overcome in order to make his enemies take him seriously, although they were proved wrong in the end when Gaara's sand embraced their bodies without a hint of intimacy.

He turned his attention back to Naruto, who was currently scarfing down the rice balls faster than he could possibly breathe around them. As if feeling eyes on the back of his head, Naruto turned in his seat and shot the two males a sheepish grin, his cheeks puffed out with the load of their spoils.

Neji scoffed quietly as Naruto finished up and paid for his food, his cheery demeanor returning as he finally took in his festive surroundings.

Gaara didn't think he had ever ran that so much in his life, it was a hard task keeping up with the bouncing blonde ball of energy and by the time they had stopped at the last booth down the line, Gaara was panting in exertion.

'_This is ridiculous," _he thought to himself, '_I really need to lay off the paperwork and get back on my training schedule.'_

But if Gaara was feeling the pain, he didn't show it. He was not about to be made out into a weakling in front of his crush and this apparently royal bloodline leader. They were almost to the gates leading outside the Hyuuga complex when Neji stopped them.

"I'm glad you could make it Naruto. You too, Gaara-san."

Naruto laughed cheerfully, his energy vestiges not yet run down much to Gaara's dismay. "I'm just surprised you actually slacked off and joined us today instead of being off somewhere surrounded by politics."

Neji smiled warmly and the duo turned to leave. Suddenly, a soft touch on Gaara's hand caused him to whip back around and stare up into lavender-hued eyes.

"It was nice seeing you again, Gaara-san," Neji murmured, smirking slightly at the death glare he received in return. The Hyuuga turned abruptly on his heel and sauntered off into the crowd.

Gaara narrowed his eyes and continued following Naruto out of the premises. This was not good. How was he going to be able to woo over his Naruto when he now had the unwanted attention of someone else? Gaara was not ignorant, to say in the least, and he knew the signs of interest when he saw it. And Neji's touch was enough evidence to go by on that.

Too bad that he already had his sights set on the hyperactive ninja strolling a few paces ahead of him. Too bad for Neji, indeed.

* * *

**Author's Note: I just felt like adding an obstacle to our beloved redhead's path. Why not? And Neji isn't harsh on the eyes. I hope they were more in character than previous chapters.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	7. No One Will Recall

**Carnal Attraction**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: I was pleased with the feedback I received for the last chapter. It always makes me happy to see those in my inbox.**

**Mood Song: Stockholm Syndrome by Muse.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: No One Will Recall**

* * *

Naruto traipsed lightly in front of Gaara, happy to be rid of the tall Hyuuga. There had been some tense electricity back there and Naruto wasn't entirely sure what was the cause. All he knew, for sure, was that Gaara was being quiet. Not that that wasn't the norm but he was being unusually more pensive than his regular "I-hate-the-world" expressions.

A light wind picked up and swirled around their bodies, teasing their forms with its lithe fingers. Naruto could smell rain on the air and smirked, knowing that those still left at the festival were going to be sorely disappointed when the heavens released on them.

"Did you have fun, Gaara?" Naruto inquired, trying to start up some small talk.

There was silence behind him before the Suna nin spoke quietly. "I'm not too fond of overly-large crowds but it was enjoyable being there with you," he answered honestly. Naruto felt the other pick up his pace till he was walking right beside him. "It's going to rain, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded his head in response and paused when Gaara suddenly stopped in front of one of the picnic tables that lined the trail.

Silently, he grasped the back of his robe with one pale hand and pulled upwards and over his head. Naruto blushed quietly at the bold action, relieved that his companion was wearing an outfit underneath. Dressed all in black, with the hint of fishnet peaking out underneath, Gaara climbed onto the picnic table, spreading his arms out beside his body, palms facing up.

"What are you doing? Get down from there before someone sees you!" Naruto whispered fiercely. Gaara merely cracked open a black-rimmed orb and stared down at the nervous kitsune.

"Just wait…" he trailed off, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly when a roll of thunder sounded above them. Naruto glanced around, expecting to see a horde of villagers standing around and gawking at them. Instead, his eyes were only met with empty streets and the sound of the wind.

He turned his head back to Gaara when he heard him heave a sigh, truly wondering now if the kid had actually lost his mind. Once more, thunder boomed near them and simultaneously the skies opened and a torrent of rain crashed down upon them.

Naruto crouched low, not much a lover of the rain. He was startled to hear chuckling above him, causing him to glance up and stare in shock. Gaara's mouth was parted slightly and a soft sound was escaping from it. It was not the laugh of a madman, nor the laugh of one right before they killed you.

It was light and soft, the laugh of someone who truly appreciated his life now and wanted to live it to its fullest extent. Naruto cautiously sat on the bench near Gaara's feet, listening to the rain and the melodic sound of hope drifting from thin, pink lips.

Naruto had always thought someone was lying to him when they said rain was the cleanser of the soul. Now he wasn't so sure if he believed himself anymore.

* * *

The walk to his apartment was spent in a comfortable silence. Naruto didn't ask why Gaara was following him home, not that he probably would give a straight response if he had, but instead led the way up his rickety steps and unlocked his front door, ushering the sopping man into his home. He disappeared into his bathroom to get the Sand nin a towel to dry off with when he heard a sharp crash come from his living room and the hurried squishes of Gaara's wet sandals.

Slowly, he returned to the front, noticing with amusement the broken picture frame lying on the hardwood. Gaara was standing clear on the other side of the room, his back turned, and studying a line-up a scrolls on the wall, acting as if he was never near the broken glass in the first place. Naruto walked over to the picture and set it back upright on the side table, smirking in Gaara's direction when he caught the slightly flustered state of the other's psyche.

"I'm sorry, I accidentally bumped it when I walked past," he mumbled, turning around guiltily, his eyes cast downward.

Naruto was taken aback at the softness in his voice and the fact that he actually apologized in the first place. Truly, Gaara had undergone some major personality transformations in the time when Naruto had first met him.

A silence filled the room, spreading its length into the dark, ominous corners. The rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall signaled the seconds that were passing slowly into awkwardness. Naruto sniffed and rubbed his neck nervously. "I got you a towel, no use staining my floor dripping like that," he murmured, holding the orange item in question out to Gaara.

Gaara held the cloth like it was an infectious disease he didn't want to catch. Timidly he ran it over his hair, causing it to be impossibly messier. Suddenly, those pale hands stiffened and a slight yelp of pain escaped from his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, concerned when Gaara didn't take the towel down from his face. A muffled reply sounded from the other side but for the life of him, he couldn't make out what it was.

Cautiously, he approached the Suna nin, raising a hand indecisively as if to help. "Take down the towel so I can see what's wrong."

Gaara's hand appeared in between them and lifted an edge of the towel till there was a irritated mint-colored eye gazing out from beneath it. "I can't, it's stuck," he replied, almost sounding bored.

"Stuck on what?"

Gaara bit down on the part of his lip that was showing from underneath the towel, rolling his eye heavenwards. "My piercing."

"You have a piercing?" Naruto questioned, amused that the sand would actually allow something to pierce Gaara's skin. "How come I've never seen it?"

"Because I keep it pulled in most of the time! Are you gonna help me or not?" he barked, impatient now.

Naruto giggled, Gaara didn't look near as dangerous when he resembled a Turkish prince with the towel draped over his head the way it was. Very carefully, he raised the towel up to get a better look, ignoring the narrowing of the green eyes in front of him. True enough, a shiny metal stud, that protruded slightly from the corner of his lip, was hung between one of the strings in the fabric.

Nimble, tan fingers reached up, almost hesitant, and unwound the strings from the piercing, careful to mind how close his hands were to Gaara's mouth. Warm breath hit his fingertips and he shivered uncontrollably, choosing to ignore the sudden tightness in his stomach. Finally, Naruto had freed the towel and he took the time to get a better look at the hole in the Gaara's face. "Why do you keep it pulled in all the time?"

Gaara let out a strong whoosh of air, seemingly realizing he wasn't going to get out of this conversation without giving him some sort of details. "I got it done about a year ago at a bachelor's party Kankuro and I attended. I was drunk and I don't like it."

"I think it's pretty cool," Naruto stated, flashing him with one of his trademark grins. He saw the hint of a tiny smile before it was leveled off back to a frown. Naruto's hand slowly came up again and Gaara stiffened considerably. He was going to touch it, just like a fucking moth to a flame, he knew he was attracted to shiny things.

Gaara jerked away, looking everywhere but at the hurt expression Naruto knew had flitted across his face for just a second before he replaced it with a hapless grin.

"I should probably get you some dry clothes before you catch a cold," he said cheerfully, disappearing into the back, desperately trying to calm his racing heart at the reasons for his bold actions and why he was overreacting so.

* * *

Gaara's tongue darted from between his lips and gingerly smoothed over his lower lip, flicking lightly at the stud there. Even after a year of having it, it still felt so foreign, the metal texture and the alien taste that came along with it. It also seemed to have an annoying habit of attracting loudmouth shinboi who lacked tact.

He glanced over to the broken picture frame Naruto had set back upright. It was of his former team, he could tell. Gaara wondered what it felt like to have a team like Naruto's had been, how it must have felt when said team disbanded because of the defection of one of its members. Gaara knew how Naruto had reacted during his retrieval mission; he would go so far for the Uchiha just to repair the bond the dark-haired boy had severed. He looked out the window, past the pouring rain, imagining he could see Sasuke standing right there. Gaara barely knew the man but he did know he could never forgive him like Naruto had. Sasuke hadn't seen the emotional wreck the Jinchuruki had been. Gaara had.

A soft sound to his right brought his attention to Naruto, who had entered the room once more, holding a pair of pants and t-shirt in his hands. Gaara noticed with faint relief that they weren't orange. He didn't think he could handle walking around looking like a fruit. Without saying anything, he stripped off his wet clothes and quickly changed into the dry ones. He smirked from beneath his bangs at the color that had suddenly rushed to the kitsune's face and the way his hands shook behind his back. And to think that was only when he was half-naked as his boxers hadn't gotten wet.

They stood there for a moment, both cursing the awkward silence that had surrounded them. Well, it was awkward on Naruto's part. Gaara didn't like to talk much anyway. He, on the other hand, was laughing inwardly at the way Naruto kept shifting his weight from each foot. "Don't you want to get something pierced?" he smirked, breaking the ice with a deafening crack.

"What?!" Naruto shrieked, the look on his face almost enough to pacify the Suna nin. Almost.

"Unless you're too scared…"Gaara trailed off, knowing what sort of effect it would have on the kitsune.

Twenty minutes later found Gaara and Naruto outside the local tattoo parlor, standing in a unusually long line to await Naruto's fate. A lot of the customers in line were wearing the standard issue ANBU uniform so the two concluded that the new recruits were here to receive their required tattoo on their shoulder.

Naruto was more antsy than ever next to him, eyeing the pictures on the walls with wide eyes. Though when he glanced over at Gaara, who was sure he was smirking like crazy, his resolve sprung back up and his features returned to their determined stance.

They were only in there for a grand total of 5 minutes after Naruto worked his way up to the front of the line, he now sporting a deep crimson spiked stud in the lobe of his ear. Naruto fiddled with it constantly, almost enough for Gaara to want to slap his hand away.

"It's going to get infected if you keep messing with it," he said later that evening, seated around Naruto's miniscule table, watching the boy slurp down his noodles.

Gaara had taken it upon himself to stay the night, though neither boy said a word about it. It got lonely in his hotel room, though he would never admit such a thing to someone, especially Naruto.

The real trouble didn't surface until bedtime, when Naruto faltered for a full two minutes over where his guest was supposed to sleep. The couch was the more reasonable option but, as he so poetically put it, it was a bitch to sleep on. Finally, Naruto, with much blushing and stuttering on his part, decided they could share his bed; he had bought a bigger one as he grew too large for his old twin.

Gaara allowed a sly smirk to grace his lips as he followed Naruto down the hall to his room. Idly, he noticed the kitsune's hand come up to trace the stud and this time he really did slap it away, shooting Naruto a glare. Muttering quietly beneath his breath, he plopped down on his bed and scooted as close to the window as he could, bringing the blankets up nearly to his chin.

Gaara slid in next to him, settling on the far edge, resisting the urge to laugh as he felt Naruto tense up beside him. He muttered a lazy good night and threw an arm over his head so the kitsune couldn't see the ridiculous smile he couldn't get off his face.

Eventually Naruto's breathing slowed down to a quiet lull and only then did Gaara allow himself to turn over, facing the boy. Naruto slept like the dead, limbs thrown everywhere and mouth parted. Gaara tucked his arm beneath his head and watched the boy's face contort in his sleep. The stud in his ear shined in the moonlight and for some strange reason the piercing seemed to suit him.

Gaara had always thought his made him look like a repressed drug-dealer, fresh out of the penitentiary. Yet, Kankuro said it looked fine, though he laughed at the time Gaara had gotten it, and even Naruto had commented about it. Maybe it wasn't so bad, he knew he would start wearing it more often now.

Gaara suddenly had the urge to touch something, anything. It had been happening a lot in the past seven years; he would get these strange bouts of affection and just needed to have to reassurance that someone was there. He chalked it up the reason being that he was so emotionally reclused as a child.

Raising a hand, he brought it down on the crown of Naruto's golden array of hair, running his fingers through the silky strands. It was soft to the touch, surprising since the only food Naruto probably consumed was most likely ramen. He allowed his fingertips to drift to the boy's face, tracing the three whisker-like scars on his cheek.

Leaning forward softly, he bent over him, his face inches from the other's. It was bitterly sweet realizing the only time he was allowed such intimate touches was when Naruto was asleep. Moving to the side, he allowed his tongue to flick out against the lobe of Naruto's ear, sliding over the smooth surface of the earring. He was surprised when it didn't taste like his own, that bitter metallic taste accompanied with most metal objects.

Instead, it tasted like warmth.

Resigning himself with a sigh, he returned to his position next to Naruto and closed his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, a few moments later Naruto's eyes flickered open and a soft trace of a smile flitted across his face.

* * *

**Author's Note: Eh, I don't really like this chapter. I took the advice of one of my reviewers and tried to capture the prose I had in the first two chapters but as you can see, it didn't work.**

**Ah, hot guys with piercings…**

**Mask of Mirage**


	8. Redemption

**Carnal Attraction**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Without the Muse I don't think I would be able to get anything done in life. They are my muse, so to speak and this is why there is another chapter up to this story. Oh, and the fact that I'm finished with _Phobia_. So, in short, that means more time for this fiction and less time spending procrastinating.**

**Mood Song: Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. If anyone of you know me personally, then please, when I die, I want this song played at my funeral.**

**Disclaimer: I thought it was pretty obvious by now…**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Redemption**

* * *

Naruto awoke slowly, allowing his body to drift back into wakefulness. A patch of sunlight that filtered in through the Venetian blinds settled on his forehead, creating a warmth on his closed eyelids. He wiggled his toes freely in the sheets and pulled his knees closer to his body and was met with resistance.

Thinking it odd, the kitsune cracked open his cobalt blues and focused on the blurry lump near his waist. His eyes settled on a shockwave of crimson hair and a pale hand, complete with slender wrist, contrasting sharply with the tan skin of his abdomen.

He stared dumbly for a few moments before shooting upwards with a yelp. Sleepy jade blinked up at him, a faint line appearing where Naruto guessed eyebrows would be. Grunting noncommittally, Gaara wrapped an arm back over his waist and pulled him down once again, his mid-back aligned parallel to the blond's stomach.

"Sleep," he muttered into the mattress, shifting his body closer to Naruto. The blond grew rigid at their close proximity but Gaara seemed not to notice, and pretty soon his breathing returned to a slow, rhythmic lull.

Naruto lie there, contemplating going back to sleep or facing the wrath of the redhead beside him if he got up. Without meaning to, his face broke into a feral grin; he wasn't a Jounin for nothing. With cat-like grace, he lifted himself out from under Gaara's protective embrace and wiggled off the foot of the bed, landing lightly on his bare toes. He slunk out of the bedroom, oblivious of green eyes studying him and the small smile that followed afterward.

Gaara wasn't Kazekage for nothing, either.

* * *

Naruto was in the middle of lathering his hair with his favorite citrus-scented shampoo when he heard the slight creak of his sliding rice-paper bathroom door. "Oi, Gaara, get the fuck out, I'm in the shower!" he hissed, leaning his head out the edge of the deep purple shower curtain.

The redhead shot him a disgruntled look, eyes still clouded over with sleep and quietly unzipped his pants. Naruto looked away quickly, a red tint staining his cheeks, when he heard the other urinate and flush seconds later. Flush. That meant.

"Ahhh," the blond screamed as the water pouring down onto his back turned into a scalding torrent. He stuck his head back out the curtain, making sure to keep the rest of him covered, and glowered at the Suna nin, his lower lip stuck out in a pout.

Gaara smirked deviously and shrugged his shoulders. "It'll teach you next time to not be such a prude, especially when there is a shower curtain to hide behind."

Naruto glared fiercely but it had no affect as Gaara was already leaving the bathroom. Naruto huffed loudly and resumed his shower, his back still stinging from the hot water. His thoughts strayed to earlier that morning; waking up to find yourself cuddling with someone who had a crush on you five years before was not exactly comfortable. He wished idly that Gaara was too disorientated to remember and therefore save both of them some really awkward situations.

The redhead confused him tremendously sometimes. Five years ago, Gaara was tripping over himself to please Naruto and win his affection and now, he treated him like a distant friend, one you only saw once every few months. Where did all those confessions of love and determination go? It felt strange now that it was gone; more so than when it did when it was happening.

Naruto shook his head to rid himself of such plaguing thoughts and shut off the tap, wrapping himself in a large, navy towel. It wasn't really his business to be inside Gaara's head, analyzing his thought processes. Besides, it felt a lot less awkward for him when the man wasn't head over heels in love with him.

He fluidly dressed in the clothes he had brought with him into the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen, where he found Gaara sitting at his small table, drinking black coffee and sifting through his junk mail. Naruto couldn't help but admire how rugged the man looked with his naturally messy hair even more unkempt and reading glasses perched on his nose.

He maneuvered around the redhead, fixing himself his own cup of coffee, but instead adding creamer and sugar. Naruto lived for sweet things and he'd be damned if his morning drink wasn't laced with sugar of some sort. Gaara snorted casually behind him and Naruto turned, reading over his shoulder to see what the man was laughing at.

What he saw made him freeze in horror. Held between pale hands was a rectangular flyer advertising a ribbed, glow-in-the-dark vibrator. Repulsed, he tried to snatch the flyer from the redhead but he held it away and moved around to the other side of the table, out of reach.

"To Mr. Uzumaki-san, would you like to be interested in our product, sure to give long-lasting, blissful pleasure that will make your toes curl? With two easy payments of 19.95, you are guaranteed a night you will never forget, just you and your Mr. Glowy, "Gaara read off the back of the flyer, a smirk spread widely across his features. "Why Naruto, I never thought you were into this kind of stuff?"

Naruto blanched, his face turning a deathly white before evolving into the deepest crimson. He squared his shoulders proudly, and crossed his arms, huffing quietly beneath his breath. "They always send me that kind of junk in the mail, I don't even know how they got my address?" he defended himself.

"Oh, really? Why then is your surname listed on here?"

Naruto hesitated, remembering the stash of strawberry-flavored condoms hidden away in his bedroom. So maybe he _had_ ordered some items from that company, but it was **never** sex toys! He just considered himself well-prepared in case of the event that something did happen and he, by some stroke of luck, brought a woman back to his apartment. Or women, mores' the merrier, they say.

He pushed these thoughts out of his head quickly and easily snatched the flyer from Gaara's hands and wadded it up, throwing it somewhere behind him, grinning cheekily. Gaara shot him a look that told him that the redhead was not fooled for one minute.

"So, what are your plans today?" Naruto asked cheerfully, desperate to change the subject.

"Meetings," was the droned reply, the Suna nin running his fingers through his hair, commanding the dark red tresses to somewhat lie down. Naruto frowned at the mention of such; he was going to hate those when he became Hokage.

"And after?"

"I'm supposed to meet up with Temari, she's here to watch over the upcoming Chuunin exams," Gaara replied, slipping the long white and blue robe over his head. Walking to the door, he placed his hat on his head, efficiently covering the upper half of his face from view. "Thanks for letting me stay over for the night."

Before Naruto could utter out another word, he was gone, the bang of Naruto's front door lurching through his body like a lead bullet. In those first few minutes, Naruto thought the quietness of his apartment had never been this unsettling. Desperate to get out of the stifling room himself, he grabbed a couple kunai and left, heading to the training grounds.

Approaching the large field, he was surprised to see Neji Hyuuga leaning against a tree, panting hard. Sweat dripped down his brow and Naruto concluded that he had been training for most of the morning.

"Good morning, Neji-san," he greeted, stopping next to him. Neji glanced up at his voice and smiled tiredly.

"Are you done for the day?" he questioned the lavender-eyed man. Neji nodded and slid a kunai back into his holster pouch. Naruto rejoiced inwardly. Neji was difficult to spar with, like Sasuke, and it was hard to get in some sneak attacks when facing those all-seeing eyes.

Neji eyed him with a scrutinizing gaze before sighing softly, almost inaudibly. "Can I ask you something? Are you and Gaara…are you two…you know, together?"

Naruto blanched for the second time that morning, shocked that all his friends were being rather perverted today. He hadn't received any notice in the mail so it was all quite odd and unsettling to him. He shook his head furiously, not just to answer Neji's question but to knock loose the images Neji's question had conjured up.

"Then, do you think, that he might be interested in someone else?" Neji continued, either oblivious to Naruto's mental anguish or choosing to ignore it.

Naruto froze, his little head cocking to the side cutely. Did Neji really just ask if Gaara was seeing someone? Why would he even care, in the first place? "I-I don't think so," the blond mumbled.

Neji's face relaxed tremendously, scaring Naruto a bit, though he showed no outer signs of being startled. The Hyuuga made a soft humming noise in his throat and shouldered away from the tree, heading slowly down the trail that Naruto had just come from.

"See you around, Naruto. I have to get back," the older man waved.

Naruto stayed rooted to his spot, rendered boneless from his confusion. He hadn't even asked the prodigy if he wanted to spar later on in the evening. You know, just in case, Naruto felt like getting his ass kicked for shits and giggles. Mumbling to himself, Naruto whipped out a few kunai and began to throw them at random targets, a strange intuition that something bad was going to happen filling his gut.

He hit four out of seven targets.

* * *

Gaara cursed quietly to himself upon exiting the Hokage Tower, at the moment disliking the big-bosomed Hokage with all his being. She was forcing him to stay in Konoha another month and wasting his time; time he could be spending at his own village and working to get things running smoothly there. Kankuro and Temari were doing an excellent job overseeing his affairs but the villagers had begun to doubt _him._ They accused him of leaving for his own personal gain, even though they knew about the trade negotiations he was making with Konoha and Kirigakure. They claimed that a good Kazekage was one who stayed in his own village and worried about it solely.

He ran a pale hand roughly through his hair, the scraping feeling of his nails soothing his frazzled temper. His head was one of his most sensitive spots and the only one who knew about this weakness was his sister. She often scratched his scalp when Gaara was up at all hours of the night tackling paperwork; it calmed him down and made him more complacent.

She even teased him about it at times, telling him he reminded her of an overgrown cat when he accidentally let out a few raspy purrs during her ministrations. Of course, at this point he was ordering her out of office; she in a fit of giggles and he allowing a tired smile to flit across his face.

Lost deep in nostalgia, Gaara failed, for perhaps the first time in his life, to hear the approach of another person till they were already near, walking casually beside him.

"Good afternoon, Kazekage-sama," Neji greeted, bowing slightly. Gaara glanced over at him with a hint of contempt. Neji was the last person he wanted to see with the sort of mood he was in. But no amount of glaring on his part caused the man to shrink away and disappear.

"Have you eaten, Kazekage-sama?" the lavender-eyed man continued, his tone light and airy.

"It's Gaara and no, I have not," he answered, narrowing his eyes. Couldn't this man tell that he did not want to continue this conversation; to hell with going to eat lunch with him.

But Neji was one of those people who knew how to get what he wanted and therefore left no window of opportunity for Gaara to escape through. He was trapped and he already knew it. He sighed inwardly and told himself to act civil; he was representing all of Suna here!

"Is-is that a lip ring?!" Neji's question suddenly pushed its annoying way into his thoughts. Clamping down on the inside metal with his teeth, Gaara pulled the stud in, obscuring it from view. Turning to the Hyuuga he stared him down with cold, mint-colored orbs.

"No," he replied monotonously.

"I swear I saw something glinting…"

"Where are we eating?" Gaara cut him off, anxious to veer the subject away from him. Neji shot him a dazzling smile, the kind that would knock a person off their feet. Although Gaara admitted to himself that Neji was an extremely attractive man, he was still not interested.

The lavender-eyed man led him to the better, more expensive part of Konoha, stopping in front of expansive two-story teahouse.

"Ah, Hyuuga-sama, would you prefer a single or public room?" an elderly distinguished man greeted them at the door, bowing impossibly low.

"Single, please," Neji replied, discreetly slipping a wad of cash into the man's palm and suddenly began speaking in a feudal dialect unfamiliar to Gaara. It must have been something good regarding him because the man smiled warmly at him and did that back-crunching bow once more. Gaara smiled back, purely out of respect, and followed Neji into the teahouse.

Once inside, Gaara was hit with how utterly hot it was within the building, the humidity suppressing his breathing and making his clothes weigh heavier on his body. He followed the Hyuuga's example and kicked off his sandals by the door and continued to allow Neji to lead him down a long hallway, his robe swishing quietly around his feet.

They passed through a sliding door at the end of the hall and Gaara sighed inaudibly as he was allowed to breathe air once more. Slowly, the duo ascended up a flight of steps, stopping at the top where a low table was spread before them, already set for two. Approaching the railing, Gaara looked down upon a large hot spring from which steam was rising up and was the source of the temperature in the hallways.

From where they were sitting, they were safe from the oppressive heat and even had a nice breeze blowing in through an open window to their right. The table was decked out with an assortments of foods, too much for just the two of them to consume in one sitting. He scoffed quietly, these Hyuuga's sure knew how to throw their money around. Nevertheless, he knelt at the table and began to eat slowly, dreading the moment Neji would open his mouth and speak.

It came a lot sooner than he expected, he almost choking very uncharacteristically on his scalding tea.

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"Excuse me," Gaara blinked once, trying hard to keep a straight face. Which, considering that he _was_ Gaara, it wasn't all that difficult to accomplish.

"Are you dating anyone?" Neji repeated.

Gaara paused for a second, knowing full well it was best to think things through before you opened your mouth. What could he say to the man to get him to leave him alone? He could lie and say he was dating someone but that would require proof of non-existent significant other if asked. And if he said no, then Neji would be dogging him more than he already was.

These were the times he wished some sort of distraction would tear him away from the moment. Sighing softly, he opted with telling the truth and shook his head no. Neji thought for a moment before standing at his place, his hands reaching for his obi.

"I'm going to go get in. You're welcome to join me when you are finished eating," the taller male suggested, long fingers pulling at the tie and allowing his haori to fall to the floor at his feet, baring a muscular chest and well-defined abs.

Gaara glanced away, embarrassed. Despite what most people thought, he wasn't as worldly as he seemed most times. Subconsciously, he gently poked his own stomach beneath the table, envious that he couldn't have such well-defined muscles, too. He was far too feminine in body stature, he told himself.

Neji descended back down the stairs and Gaara waited till he heard the quiet splash of the water before he dared stand up, lest he saw a fully nude Neji. Neji was obviously waiting for him to join him, as he said, but Gaara carefully weighed the pros and cons of the situation.

On one hand, he was apprehensive to strip in front of someone who possibly liked him more than an acquaintance then hop into a steaming pool with said individual. On the other hand, that steaming water was looking rather inviting and he could really use some relaxation after the taxing morning he had.

He stood in front of the spring, ignoring the shit-eating grin plastered on Neji's face. He tested the water with his toes, shivering at the jolt that rushed through his body. Telling himself to hell with it, he pulled the long robe over his head, letting it fall to the floor along with his pants, shirt, and the mesh one underneath.

He paused now, contemplating how he was going to remove his boxers with Neji staring at him like was something to eat. Leveling his gaze with lavender, he glared until the man got the hint and turned around, sighing loudly.

"I won't look, I promise."

Whipping his boxers off quickly, he submerged himself into the hot water before Neji had a chance to peek. When the man did turn back around, Gaara witnessed his face fall, disappointed. Humming gently, the Hyuuga leaned back against the side of the spring and Gaara mimicked, his back scratching against the rock behind him. He allowed his body to relax after a few moments, letting the warm water work out the stiffness in his body. His chin flopped down on his chest, the damp ends of his crimson hair sticking to his face. He even went so far as to push his piercing back through his lip.

Suddenly, a faint prickle ran up his spine and he opened his eyes to find himself trapped between two strong arms. Neji was inches in front of him, a grin spread across his face. "Tell me Gaara, are you frightened of perfection?" the man murmured.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at the predicament Neji had put them in and raised a hand to press against the man's chest to push him away. "Clearly, you do not see yourself very well."

Neji quickly grasped the hand on his chest, pulling himself even closer to the boy. Gaara felt a leg assert itself between his own, parting them. He growled lowly in his throat but Neji, being the ironic entity that he was, must have found this arousing because he raised a hand to cup the redhead's cheek softly. "You're always so cold and brash. I want to change that," Neji whispered into his ear, sending a repulsive shiver through Gaara's body. Of all the days to _not_ bring his gourd, it just had to be today!

Neji's breath ghosted over his face and Gaara continued to glare at the man, wishing sheer willpower alone would make him burst into flames. No such luck, because Neji was then impossibly close and a soft pressure was against his lips. Gaara rolled his eyes, a little perturbed that the Hyuuga was stealing his first kiss, and pushed him away roughly.

"Stay away from me," Gaara threatened, wading to the edge of the pool and getting out, not caring if Neji saw his bare ass or not. He dressed with his back to the man and walked out without saying a word.

Because was pretty sure if he stayed any longer, that refreshing spring would be running red with blood.

* * *

**Author's Note: Chapter is a little longer than usual, a total on 15 pages though I'm sure it looks like four here. Gaara's unwanted admirer is beginning to get a little cocky for his own good. Neji is an interesting character and I wanted to really develop him in this story, mostly just as someone that can piss Gaara off.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	9. This Time It Will be Imperfection

**Carnal Attraction**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Nearly half of this chapter was written in anger, so do not be alarmed if you see some sarcasm or biting remarks hidden within the text. The cause of my discomfort: my mother. An odd thing for me and my Meems get along so well. I really need to go get my head checked, I may have anger management problems. On a less evil note, this chapter actually gave me trouble, how dare it! But I think it turned out pretty satisfactory, or at least well enough to my liking.**

**Mood Song: Mizerable by Gackt**

* * *

**Chapter 9: This Time It Will be Imperfection**

* * *

Gaara had stormed back to his hotel room shortly after leaving Neji in a dazed stupor, plugging his iPod in his ears with enough force to rip the foam padding on the earpieces. Hysteria by _Muse_ ripped through his cranium at high decibels, turning his already rattled brain to a nice, creamy mush. The electronic synthesizer in the first few minutes of the song actually vibrated along the back of his neck and he idly realized that it probably wasn't healthy to have the volume turned up this loud but he couldn't find enough energy in him to care either way.

He couldn't sit down long enough without fidgeting so it left him pacing the short expanse of rug in front of his bed. Who the hell did Neji think he was? Never had someone approached Gaara that way with the intention to not cause harm.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to remove the strange flavor he tasted there. He fumed quietly, greatly disturbed that his first kiss was not by Naruto. He didn't exactly understand the mechanics of first kisses but he knew enough to know that they were special, at least among the females in his village.

A strange sense of foreboding suddenly filled his chest moments before his door flew open, banging loudly on the opposite wall, and something small and purple latched to his legs. He glanced down to see a young child clinging to his thighs, a wide toothy grin spread over her face.

Cautiously, he shook his leg in the hopes in dislodging the girl but she remained, holding onto him like an overgrown leech. He turned his attention back to the doorway when a soft laugh echoed through the room. Naruto stood there, clutching a small red backpack in his hand.

"Sakura and Lee went out to eat so I'm stuck babysitting," the blond explained.

Gaara blinked slowly, thinking that someone was out of there goddamn mind to leave their child in the care and supervision of _Naruto._

The little girl at his leg pulled on the fabric of his robe and cackled out something indiscernible. Naruto walked to the center of the room, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I thought we could come hang out with you, Asayu was getting antsy all cooped up in the apartment," the kitsune explained, sheepish.

Gaara gave a curt nod, informing the boy that he didn't mind Naruto's company to which the blond sighed in relief. Gaara studied Naruto and the genuine happy smile that lit up his face when Asayu ran, giggling, to him yelling "Oji" at the top of her shrill little lungs. Naruto reached out to catch the girl but Asayu had other plans as she roughly threw her small body onto Naruto's legs. Pitching forward with a sudden yelp, balance momentarily lost, Naruto managed to trip Gaara as well, sending them both falling backwards onto the bed.

Gaara hit the bed with a thump, pain registering in his abdomen as Naruto's elbow met contact. His left arm was completely trapped between their bodies and his right arm was in no better condition, stuck at an odd angle at his side.

Naruto blinked down at him, smiling apologetically and trying to lift his body off when he gave a soft 'oof' and his head dipped forward roughly. Peeking around the messy blond tendrils, Gaara could see Asayu on the blond's back, giggling happily and beating on the back of his head. Naruto gave a perturbed look and tried to raise back up once more when the young girl hit him again and this time Gaara winced in pain as Naruto's forehead bumped roughly into his.

"Sorry," he murmured, his warm breath hitting against the redhead's face.

Gaara inhaled sharply, suddenly flustered at the close proximity this toddler had put them in. The boy's soft peach lips were only inches away and Gaara would have been able to reach them if he leaned up.

"Asayu, can you get off Oji, please?" Naruto pleaded with the girl sweetly.

Gaara parted his lips slightly as he felt Naruto's deep voice rumble through his own body with a calming air. The blond must have not realized the situation the other shinobi was in because he would have surely removed himself with haste.

* * *

Naruto gave a soft sound of surprise as he turned back around to witness Gaara's eyes take on a lusty, lidded gaze and a crimson hue crawl across the bridge of his nose. The boy's mouth was parted a bit, warm air smelling faintly of green tea brushing his cheeks softly. He couldn't deny it, at the moment Gaara had the "take me" look down perfect. And it frightened him. After going for so long of not seeing the redhead declaring his undying love, this sudden change in demeanor caused Naruto's heart to pound erratically. For what reason, he could not say.

Naruto had always figured himself, that despite his stubborn, irrational behavior, he could get himself out of sticky situations that, often times, he put himself in. Unfortunately, this was one of those times that he couldn't get out of, due to the fact that a squealing toddler was hopping up and down on his back, each time pressing him closer and closer to the redhead beneath him.

And said redhead was continuing with his dreamy-eyed stare and slowly lifting his face forward…wait, was he going to…oh god, he was!

Naruto tried to lean back to escape the lips that were slowly closing in on his own but this was futile as he could go no further with the small girl atop him. He shivered, against his will most likely, when those soft flesh-colored lips pressed against his own timidly. The heady scent of green tea and sandalwood filled his senses and despite the awkward, most unwanted situation, he closed his eyes.

Gaara must have seen this as acceptance because the Shinobi's tongue darted out and swept across the seam of his lips, causing Naruto to jolt to reality with a startled yelp. Rolling fluidly, he deposited the still-giggling child onto the bed and sprang up, putting distance between him and Gaara, who remained lying on the bed, staring up at him with darker mint eyes.

Sub-consciously he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, immediately wishing he hadn't when he caught sight of the betrayed expression that flitted over Gaara's face for a mere moment. Slowly, the redhead pushed himself up into a sitting position, his hands resting nervously in his lap; Naruto could tell by the way they kept picking at the fabric of the robe.

"Forgive me, I went farther than I wanted to," the boy muttered softly, reaching over to ruffle Asayu's silky, black hair.

Naruto paused when a feeling swept through him like a tsunami: regret. It was a strange feeling because he was uncertain as to why he should feel guilty for pushing Gaara away. Did some part of him, hidden deep beneath the skin, feel attracted to Gaara, craved his presence even?

He knew he wasn't gay, that was an absolute fact. He had always been secure in his sexuality and nothing would ever change that. Because of that fact, this feeling that was soaring through him paralyzed any rational thought that was flowing in his brain and he acted on impulse.

Approaching the side of the bed with quick, light steps, he hauled the redhead up by the collar and all but tossed him backwards onto the bed, quickly straddling his waist. Gaara gave a startled yelp but was cut off as Naruto swooped down upon him, covering his mouth with his own.

It didn't take long for Gaara to respond and he could tell by the way the returned kisses were rushed and awkward that Gaara had less experience than him. Breaking away quickly, almost nervously, Naruto picked Asayu, --who was still quite childishly oblivious to the make out session that was happening right beside her--, up and made a dash for the door.

"Naruto," Gaara's cool voice broke through, "if you walk out that door, you will be dead to me."

Naruto smiled wryly, winking in the process. "Chill dude, I have to get her home, then I promise I'll be back so we can talk, alright?"

Gaara seemed satisfied for the most part with this answer, so Naruto took that as his cue to leave. What he hadn't told the boy, aside from having to get Asayu back to her parents, Naruto had been losing his head back there and needed to step out for a second to regain his composure.

But what Gaara didn't know, wouldn't hurt him.

* * *

**Author's Note: It's atrocious and I hadn't really intended for the attraction to start so soon, I'll slow it done some in the next few chapters but I wanted to establish something between the two so it wouldn't be this whole, "Gaara loves Naruto, Neji likes Gaara, Naruto is straight" thing going on. Moreover, this chapter is a definite do-over (not right now); it's too short and sketchy for my liking.**

**Manga Spoilers: Great Shiva, Masashi needs to hurry his ass up! Finally, the Uchiha brothers are face-to-face and it's taking that little man forever to update it.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	10. Every Breath We Drew Was Hallelujah

**Carnal Attraction**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Well, I suppose I should fill up this extra space here with meaningless crap. This chapter was a lot easier to write, I have to say that much. Compared to the previous, I just sort of vomited from my brain to my fingers with this one. Sorry for the analogy there, it's the only way I see fit to explain it.**

**Mood Song: Cape of Dreams by Hyde**

**Disclaimer: Because I have left it off, knowingly I might add, the last few chapters, I do not and never will own Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Every Breath We Drew Was Hallelujah**

* * *

_It goes like this_

_The fourth, the fifth_

_The minor fall, the major lift_

_The baffled king composing Hallelujah_

_--Hallelujah (Rufus Wainwright)_

* * *

After finally dropping off Asayu, who had fallen asleep in her Oji's arms on the way home, Naruto slowly plodded through the nearly empty streets back to Gaara's hotel room. His feet drug on the ground, kicking up pebbles and dirt sifting into his sandals. Once allowed fresh air, reality hit Naruto like a ton of jagged-edged bricks. He was not gay. He was **not** gay. There was no plausible reason for why he felt the urge to kiss Gaara.

But he had. And he did.

Naruto wanted nothing more to stop where he was and bash his head upon the nearest brick wall till all of these insane thoughts splattered out his ears. He could vaguely taste the other on his lips still, a sweet almost mint flavor, that forced him to stop and lean heavily against the alley wall for support. How was he supposed to even to _attempt_ to explain this one?

He felt with a remarkable sense of clarity the gritty feel of the bricks beneath his fingertips and the soft glare of the moonlight glittering off the myriad of pebbles lining the sidewalk.

Everything felt so surreal, like his mind was here but his body was elsewhere. Stepping lightly into the quiet teahouse, --long lost of its noisy travelers who had since stumbled their way into their respective rooms--, Naruto tiptoed up the short flight of stairs, locating Gaara's door with sharp eyes in the pitch black of the hallway.

It was quiet within the room, the only sounds were of the methodical ticking of the clock on the nightstand and the backdrop of the melody flowing from the redhead's headphones. Gaara was fast asleep, curled into an impossible ball on top of the duvet, his fingers barely interlaced at his ankles. Naruto's eyebrows pulled together as he glanced at the clock, he hadn't been gone for only half an hour!

Crawling onto the bed, Naruto froze when the Suna shinobi twitched slightly in this sleep at the rocking motion of the mattress as it sunk under both their weight. He hadn't gotten very far when Gaara's eyes just suddenly snapped open, revealing warm, sleepy green irises. Naruto gave a startled yelp and recoiled a bit; most people woke up blinking and rubbing at their eyes.

Gaara sat up and rested his weight on an elbow, blinking sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I got tired and couldn't wait up any longer for you."

Naruto smiled and pressed his hand in the center of the redhead's chest and eased him back down onto the bed. "We don't have to talk now, you're exhausted, get some sleep. We can do this in the morning."

"You're not going to leave, are you?"

His voice held an emotion that was foreign to Naruto so, not thinking much of it, he chalked it up to exhaustion and shook his head no. Gaara's mouth pulled at the edges into a tired smile and he laid his head back down, sighing contently.

"Tell me though," Gaara murmured, after a few moments of silence, "what were you thinking about when you kissed me earlier? You looked like you were worrying yourself about something."

Naruto stretched out next to the redhead, running his fingers through his blond tresses, making them stand even more on end. He exhaled in a long, loud sigh, trying to work out what his answer was in his head.

"I'm not quite sure," he admitted finally, "I have no clue what I was doing or why I did it but there's a part of me, a part that I'm slightly ashamed of, who wouldn't mind doing it again." He glanced quickly over at Gaara, afraid that he offended him with that last comment but all he saw was drooped eyelids, the orbs beneath them quiet and intense. "I'm sorry if that sounded a little mean, I'm just really confused right now."

"Don't worry about it," the redhead replied, reaching over and squeezing tightly on his hand, before allowing his to drop and with the same surrealism Naruto felt outside, he witnessed Gaara's eyes slowly drift shut, blocking his beautifully cold irises from view.

Naruto turned on his side to where he was facing the boy, his drawn-up knees barely brushing against the fabric of Gaara's pants. For some strange reason, he wanted to be the first thing Gaara saw when he awoke in the morning.

* * *

The morning brought stormy, overcast weather and with it one petulant Gaara. Naruto could feel the tension surrounding the man even before he opened his eyes. Naruto, himself, had been awake for the better part of two hours, just lying there and staring at the other, racking his brain on how to settle their little problem.

He heard a low growl come from his left and he watched, with idle fascination, as the bedraggled redhead stumbled from the covers and stomped to the bathroom, the sound of the shower turning on shortly after. Naruto allowed a short, barking laugh escape from his throat at Gaara's temperamental behavior.

It wasn't long after that the redhead came stomping back out, fit to kill, a large, fluffy red towel wrapped about his thin, pale waist. Naruto tried to look away, he really did, but he was unable to wrench his eyes away from the sight before him. A few droplets of water slid down his abdomen, some dipping into his navel and the others traveling farther south, a place that was obscured by the towel.

Stalking over to a dresser in the corner of the room, Gaara grabbed a change of clothes and went back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Naruto giggled happily to himself, taking immense delight in the fact that Gaara was quite obviously not a morning person. He tried to keep his face devoid of expression, altogether failing when a bright, contagious grin lit up his face upon Gaara's reemergence. Gaara didn't return the smile but his eyes did lose the hard edginess in them.

The redhead moved slowly to sit on the bed next to him and Naruto patted his damp hair roughly, like a dog. Gaara shot him a look that told him if he wanted to keep his hand, it might be best if he didn't do that again. Naruto dropped his hand awkwardly, startled when Gaara suddenly grasped it and slid his fingers in between his own.

Naruto noticed the sharp contrast of skin tone; pale and tan. Him and Gaara were so exceedingly different but, in many ways, identical. He was broken from his reverie by a soft sigh next to him; obviously Gaara was waiting for him to say something.

"Do you still like me?" he burst out without thinking, immediately snapping his mouth shut once the words left his throat. Gaara cocked his head to the side a little, in what could be called a cute manner, and his lips parted slightly.

But before he could get out a decent reply, a sharp knock sounded at the door. Disentangling their fingers, Gaara moved to open it, revealing the tall Neji Hyuuga.

* * *

Gaara narrowed his eyes ruefully at the unwanted visitor on the opposite of his door, ignoring the provocative smirk spreading across the Hyuuga's face. Catching sight of Naruto on the bed behind him, the smirk quickly left his face to be replaced with what could almost be called a glower. This, too, left when Naruto jumped from his spot and rushed to the door, oblivious of the killing intent radiating from both men.

"Neji, what are you doing here?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes lighting up like firecrackers.

It pleased Gaara to see Neji falter for a moment, obviously not thinking he had to come up with some excuse as to why he was there. Then a wicked grin began to form on the lavender-eyed man's lips, a twinkle of amusement gleaming in his eyes.

"Why Naruto, I'm here to pick Gaara up for our date," he replied coolly, shooting Gaara as triumphant smirk. The Suna nin's jaw could've dropped if he allowed it. Oooh, sneaky tall bastard!

"A what?" Naruto deadpanned, his eyes widening briefly. Gaara stood there, heat rising to his face out of embarrassment and the more predominant emotion, anger. His fingers twitched anxiously by his side and he wanted nothing more that send his fist to collide with the other man's jaw.

"A date," Neji repeated, leaning casually against the doorframe, "he agreed to go on one with me last night over dinner."

Naruto looked back and forth between the two, his mouth slowly dropping down in disbelief. "But Gaara…I thought…you said… wow, this is huge," the blond stammered, knocked for a loop.

Horrified that Naruto was always such an accepting person, Gaara huffed quietly beneath his breath, unaware that Neji and even Naruto, with his fox-like senses, heard him. A pale arm, like stale chalk, snaked around his waist and brought his side flush to the Hyuuga's. A scent, that was not unpleasant but unfamiliar because it was Neji, wafted up his nostrils causing him to reel in shock. Gaara was going to throw him off and toss some off-handed insults at him but instead he paused, the gear beginning to creak in his head.

If he couldn't get Naruto to like him on his own terms, then he might just have to bend the rules a bit.

Oh yes, this was full-proof! Get Naruto jealous of Neji and he would become putty in his hands. Things might get a little messy but Gaara was willing to take that chance.

After all, you had to get a little dirty to play in the mud.

* * *

**Author's Note: -snores- **

_**This is an automatic response from Mask of Mirage's computer, Edward. Mirage is currently celebrating her holiday break from school and the such by sleeping, as you can see. She will be back up and running by tomorrow evening at the very latest.**_

_**She will appreciate any feedback for this chapter. It's always nice to wake up to a full inbox.**_

_**-Edward**_


	11. Could I Only Speak Just Whats Hurting Me

**Carnal Attraction**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Mood Song: Map of the Problematique by Muse**

**Disclaimer: Rightful ownership goes to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Could I Only Speak Just What's Hurting Me**

* * *

It was shortly after leaving his hotel that Gaara came to the conclusion that maybe this wasn't the best of ideas. It showed when Neji laced their hands together in an unmistakable sign of "together" and how Naruto kept prattling on about everything and nothing instead of becoming jealous, like he was supposed to.

This was going to blow up in his face, he just knew it. But yet, it was too late to turn back now, especially when he still had a plan forming at the back of his mind. It was simple really, flirt with Neji to the extent that Naruto got jealous, either out of mutual romantic interest or the simple fact that they were just not paying attention to him, the other more important member of their three-man party.

Neji seemed a little disgruntled that Naruto was tagging along but didn't say anything, possibly out of respect. Most likely it was his pride that was hanging on the line. Gaara shivered a little when said man's hip bumped into him as they walked, though the milky-eyed man probably made no connection to the fact that it was out of unwanted contact.

"Are you cold?" the man asked him, pulling him impossibly closer to his side. Gaara sighed impatiently; this was ridiculous. They were going to trip if they walked any closer.

"So where are we going?" Naruto inquired happily, practically dancing ahead of them.

Neji frowned at the word 'we' and tapped a finger against Gaara's shoulder. "There's a small festival-type party taking place in the next town over, I thought about going there."

Gaara watched as Naruto's eyes lit up with joy and his face curved into a wide grin; the boy was really oblivious to how beautiful he was. A strong breeze swept down the trail they were walking on and Gaara's slight frame was nearly blown over by the rug that was Neji's hair. But unlike most rugs, this one was incredibly soft and smelled unbelievably well. Cautiously, he ran his finger through the ends of it, making sure Naruto was watching, taking notice at the confused frown playing on the blond's lips.

"Beautiful," he murmured, smiling softly when Neji turned his attention on him. The Hyuuga seemed to blush but it could have just been his eyes playing tricks on him. Without some sort of warning beforehand, Gaara found lips covering his own and he had to forcibly stop himself from pushing the man away. He had to think of his plan.

Neji moved his mouth carefully over the other's, not really caring that they still had an audience in the form of one bewildered, quite uncomfortable kitsune. The kiss was awkward, try as he might to seem like he was responding. It didn't feel right; it didn't feel like Naruto, for one.

Neji pulled back slowly, their lips making a soft popping noise. "Thank you for the compliment," he murmured, brushing a finger over Gaara's cheek. The redhead looked away as if to hide a blush but in reality he was trying not to projectile vomit in the other's face.

Naruto seemed out of place about a yard away, his feet shifting nervously against the forest floor. Clearly, he was uncomfortable watching them show any signs of affection. Perfect.

Lacing his hand back with Neji's, Gaara smiled brightly at the blond, causing Naruto's mouth to quirk up a little at the side. It didn't take them long to reach the village they were heading to and as soon as Naruto caught sight of the small festival up ahead, his anxiousness was immediately replaced with utter joy. He was so predictable sometimes it was scary.

It wasn't long until the hyperactive ninja dragged them along to nearly every station, much like the festival they attended days prior. Except this time, instead of flashing them a cheeky grin, Naruto's face would contort every once in a while into a frown upon catching sight of the still-intertwined fingers of Gaara and Neji.

Gaara couldn't believe how well this was playing out for him. Pretty soon, Naruto would be his and finally the blond would be able to understand the amount of love Gaara held for the boy. Especially since he had to resort to such drastic measures to make it known…

* * *

Naruto huffed quietly beneath his breath, frowning at the sight before him. He shouldn't be letting this get to him, after all, it was nice for Gaara to seem so happy and he knew better than anyone that the redhead deserved all the happiness he could get.

But still, every time his eyes landed on the two laughing and whispering animatedly to each other, a sharp clench made itself known in his chest, no matter how hard he fought to keep it down. Some sick, twisted part of him felt like he owned Gaara, had laid claim to him long ago when he was the first to defeat him in battle. It was an unmistakable sign of possession and it made him feel sick to his stomach that he could think such things. Gaara was a person and you couldn't own a person like they was an inanimate object.

Nevertheless, it was picking at his thoughts, festering in the back of his brain like a rotting peach, bitterly sweet. The pangs in his stomach grew stronger as Gaara grudgingly accepted with a smile, a small stuffed toy that Neji won for him. The small otter glared up at him with its permanent smirk from beneath Gaara's arm, taunting him as if to say, "You're not jealous, are you?"

The sharp feeling in his chest grew even worse when the two shared chaste little kisses in front of him, and God, and everybody. Yet, there was one thought that plagued him at this point and that was why Gaara didn't tell him that he and Neji were dating and so far along that they were openly showing affection like they were. He considered Gaara his closest friend, so why wouldn't the boy tell him personal things, just for the sake of 'just because'?

Maybe he wasn't as forgiven as he thought he was.

It was sometime during lunch, amidst the quiet laughter of Gaara as Neji said something that was obviously funny, when Naruto slammed his chopsticks down on the table with such force that their glasses of tea sloshed onto the table, soaking into the wood.

"Gaara, can I speak to you? Alone," Naruto gritted out between clenched teeth, his knuckles turning white under the pressure of his balled-up fists.

Gaara looked slightly startled and nodded, standing from his seat and maneuvering around Neji. Naruto grabbed his wrist before he was completely out of the booth and drug him to the back of the small shop they were eating at. He stopped in a dimly-lit hallway just outside the bathrooms, turning on the redhead with such brutal force that the smaller ninja actually squeaked when slammed up against the wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing back there?" the blond whispered fiercely, trying to reign in his moment of uncharacteristic anger.

Gaara's mint eyes narrowed dangerously and he ripped his wrist away from the kitsune's grip. Naruto stepped back a bit, ashamed that he yelled at the Suna nin. "I'm sorry," he murmured, casting his eyes to the floor, "but why didn't you tell me?"

He heard Gaara exhale loudly between his teeth and he glanced back up just in time to see his curious green orbs roll heavenward. "Can you really not see what I'm trying to do?"

Naruto arched a blond brow in confusion but before Gaara could continue his thought, Neji suddenly appeared around the corner, wearing a worried frown. Naruto cursed mentally, this Hyuuga sure had an annoying habit of popping up at the most unwanted times.

"Sorry to interrupt but I'm afraid I have some bad news, we seem to be caught in a storm and won't be able to get back to Konoha, I highly doubt we'll even be able to leave the shop."

Naruto groaned aloud in anguish, what he thought was going to be a great day was slowly turning into a wreck straight from the fiery depths of hell. Slowly, he plodded back into the eating area of the shop and confirmed with dismay, that there was in fact a storm blowing outside, the wind whipping the heavy cloth tapestries that hung outside the shops like dry, brittle leaves.

He pressed his forehead up against the glass and glared forlornly at the rain till he felt a soft pressure on his shoulder. Turning around, he was met with the concerned face of Gaara. Shaking his head, he gave the boy a reassuring smile and put on the brightest, fakest grin he could muster.

Around two hours later, after many attempts of conversation and even a failed game of "I Spy", Naruto slumped down into one of the booths, too bored to even care when Gaara stood from his position against the counter and announced that he was going to the restroom. If Naruto had been more observant and less moody, he would have noticed Neji stand quietly a few moments later and follow the redhead toward the back.

But if Naruto did a lot of things he should have, they wouldn't be in this position in the first place…

* * *

_His little whispers_

_Love me. Love me._

_That's all I ask for_

_Love me. Love me._

_He battered his tiny fists to feel something_

_Wondered what it's like to touch and feel something._

* * *

**Authors Note: Short, blunt and to the point, I think. So Gaara's plan seems to be working on one side but just to give you a little incentive to stay tuned to the next chapter, his grand plan is about to backfire horribly in his face. But of course, I would have to write that. I obviously don't own the words in italics, Meg and Dia do.**

**Manga Spoiler: You have got to be shitting me, Kishimoto! How can you kill him off like that? I loved the old perverted coot. Now what will me and Kakashi read? So utterly depressed.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	12. Remains a Sordid Twist of Fate

**Carnal Attraction

* * *

**

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Mood Song: Hurt by Nine Inch Nails**

**Disclaimer: I get no profit from writing this.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Remains a Sordid Twist of Fate**

* * *

Gaara leaned heavily against the wash basin, staring at his murky reflection in the soapy water. The restroom smelled funny, like dried, pressed flowers. It wasn't a very large restroom, not like one of those public ones with the stalls. There was a simple toilet and large counter with a sink. Probably all this family-owned shop could afford.

So with it being small in size, Gaara heard the door creak open behind him and shut in the same moment. Whipping around, he came face to face with Neji who immediately pressed him up against the counter, his breath coming hot against his forehead.

He glanced up at the man from underneath red eyelashes, fixing the Hyuuga with a glare that could melt steel. Neji smirked haughtily and quickly pressed his lips to Gaara's, stopping whatever protests that were about to be formed. At once, Gaara turned as unresponsive as stone beneath Neji's mouth causing the lavender-eyed man to pull back slightly, a frown set securely on his face.

"Why are you denying it now when you were doing it so freely earlier today?"

Gaara tried to push him away but Neji stood, solid as a rock, catching onto the redhead's pale, slender wrists and holding them away from his body. Gaara began to struggle against his grip; this wasn't supposed to turn out this way. Neji's frown deepened in his face and held onto the boy's shoulders, confusion showing clearly in his eyes.

"What are you doing?!" he explained, shaking the Suna shinobi lightly, his lips brushing across Gaara's lower lip, which was beginning to tremble against his will.

"No, I-I don't want you to….Naruto…." Gaara whispered brokenly against his mouth, for once in his life not wanting to fight back.

Neji immediately let go of him, putting what distance he could between them. "You…used me to get to him. You were never interested in me. I understand now, you're in love with Naruto."

It was at that moment that three things happened simultaneously. Neji crossed the room in one quick stride, catching the redhead's lips with such brutal force that Gaara was slammed up against the sink, a sharp hiss escaping his lips. Naruto entered the restroom, clearly just realizing that he had been left alone and upon hearing Gaara's hiss assumed it was out of pleasure.

Gaara shoved Neji off him just in time to see the betrayed look in Naruto's brilliant cobalt blues, the same expression he had been seeing all day whenever Neji kissed him. He didn't have time to explain before Naruto whirled back around and busted back out of the bathroom, his eyes flickering back and forth from a comfortable blue to a fiery crimson.

Gaara watched in disdain, a strange, different clench making itself known in his chest. What had he done? It wasn't supposed to turn out this way! Neji walked to the door, pausing and tilting his head over his shoulder.

"This is what you deserve in the end. Though, I am sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted it to."

Gaara growled low in his throat and pushed past him, focused solely on retrieving Naruto. The outside eating area was vacant and Gaara realized with dismay that the upset blond had escaped outside, where the storm from before was still wreaking its havoc.

Without a second thought, Gaara stumbled out into the tempest, following the faint, disappearing traces of angry chakra. Because he lived in the desert, he was used to the blinding winds but Naruto was not. He had to find him before he got himself hurt. Gaara wouldn't be able to live with himself if something did happen to him.

* * *

Naruto threw an arm over his face to protect his eyes from the dust that was being blown. The kiss that he just happened to walk in on was the last straw, he couldn't take it anymore. Not when he was fighting with his own self for even caring in the first place.

He could feel his heart in his throat and the stinging sensation in his eyelids that proved to him that he _did_ care and it was killing him. Had he really fallen in love with the redheaded shinobi? Why was that so hard to accept?

He fell once, twice and on the third occasion he just lay there, scrunched over so far in the pouring rain that his head was buried in his lap. Naruto wrapped his arms around his midsection, holding himself together at the seams lest he let go and everything came rushing out and be washed away in the rain.

He didn't know how long he lie there, listening to the howling in the trees and trembling violently from the coldness seeping in through his wet clothing. He heard footsteps off to his right and they stopped in front of him. Knees hit the pavement next to him in a loud thud and there was a comfortable weight draped across his back.

Turning his head to the side, his breath caught in his throat to see Gaara embracing him, head resting gently on his back, eyes squeezed shut. He kept whispering '"sorry" in his ear a thousand times over, till the word began to sound less like something and more like a ancient mantra.

He sighed heavily into his lap, lifting his upper body up to a sitting position. He glanced over at Gaara who kept his head parallel to the ground. His crimson hair was dripping and plastered to the sides of his face, pale fingers clenched so tightly to his pants that they were a ghostly white.

"Gaara," Naruto began, clearing his throat awkwardly. The redhead hummed in acknowledgment but didn't lift his head. This was it, now or never. He wasn't sure what he was feeling or how to go about it but he had to let him know one way or the other. "Gaara, I--I think I'm in love with you."

Gaara's head shot up so suddenly that if it wasn't attached to his neck it would have went rolling off underneath a porch or something, or at least that's how it seemed to Naruto. Lips parted slightly and before Naruto could properly respond he was being tackled around the middle in a very uncharacteristic move from Gaara. He even went so far as to check the chakra signatures of the smaller male, just in case it was an enemy shinobi in disguise.

But sure enough, the flow was familiar as was the weight settled on his lap. So Naruto had been correct all along, Gaara had never really gotten over him, if this was any proof at all. Slowly, he allowed his arms to wrap around the smaller shinobi and pull him closer, the boy's warm breath heating his collar in the most comforting of ways.

"It was all a ploy, I never really agreed to date Neji and I never meant to hurt you and…"Gaara admitted in a rush but was cut off by a tight squeeze by Naruto.

"Shh, it doesn't matter anymore, I don't care."

Naruto held him closer, both sitting there in the pouring rain. One confused by the emotions that were causing a tumult within him and one hoping that he was still worthy of forgiveness.

So far, the line hasn't been distinguished between the two but the die has been rolled and we can only wait and see where it takes them.

* * *

**Author's Note: A short chapter and I hope it didn't turn out too cliché at the end. I know it seems that I sounded like I ended it but have no fear, this isn't the end. I still have to make Naruto come to terms with his feelings, Gaara get over his betrayal and Neji to find some way to cope with being used.**

**Ah, a busy time for me.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	13. Freight Train Coming Your Way

**Carnal Attraction**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Hm, people have been saying I update abnormally fast but I can't see how so. I just type it up when it comes to me but I suppose, I do update a little faster than when I used to write it on paper before. I think that was one of the main reasons I had so many brain farts back then was because I never got a whole chapter down on paper without some sort of interruption and it caused me to lose the flow of my voice. But now, when I type I can maintain a consistency though I've noticed it's harder to fix plot holes. Ironic, no? **

**Mood Song: The Bird and the Worm by The Used**

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**Chapter 13: Freight Train Coming Your Way **

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The walk back to Konoha the following day was dreadfully quiet, as Neji had returned that night before, obviously still perturbed that he had been drug along on Gaara's very short leash. Now that the two remaining shinobi knew how the other felt, there was nothing to separate the awkwardness that had suddenly surrounded them in a tight, suffocating grip.

Gaara felt it more than the other, that was for sure. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew something was different, not wrong just different. It was like he was not completely forgiven, no matter how many times Naruto tried to convince him otherwise. And when he thought back on it, hell, this was exactly what he deserved. Neji was right; this was what he got in the end. Let's face it, he had stalked the poor blond in the beginning, broke contact with him for all of five years, completely shut him down upon renewing said contact, and just recently, pretended to love another all in order to make the other jealous.

He deserved this and, by his opinion, so much more.

Something had broke loose in him when Naruto admitted his feelings for him. The dam that he had created so long ago to hold back his traitorous feelings had suddenly cracked and it took all his willpower not to sweep Naruto up into his embrace and litter him with thousands upon thousands of butterfly kisses and promised dreams for the future.

But although Naruto said he loved him, Gaara was still unsure if the blond was willing to act on those simple feelings. Because that's what they were, just feelings. Being a shinobi required you to not expect to live past the next mission therefore it was beneficial not to get attached to anything permanent on your off days. Feelings were a hindrance and not necessarily recommended, so in the end they added up to naught.

Gaara shook his head, splaying his crimson hair across his forehead, sweeping lightly across his blood-red kanji. Naruto was staring off into the trees, though Gaara would bet on his life the ninja was more alert than he appeared. Never let your guard down, one of the very first rules taught to young newbie shinobi.

He lightly cleared his throat, trying to get the Leaf nin's attention, in which he succeeded when cobalt orbs turned on him in curiosity. He opened his mouth to speak and immediately closed it, not knowing what to say and if he did have something to say, he couldn't remember it anyways, especially when staring into such captivating eyes.

Naruto gave him a tiny smile, reaching over and squeezing his hand tightly in assurance; somehow he knew what he was feeling and was probably experiencing the same difficulty in being able to get it out.

"Gaara," Naruto began, jamming his hands into his pockets, "I feel like I owe you something but I don't know what. I was so…cruel to you all those years ago and now I-I'm just confused as to why you are so readily accepting me in your life."

Gaara clasped his fingers around the boy's wrist, drawing his hand out of his pocket before intertwining their fingers. "There is no life without you," he replied simply, allowing one of his rare genuine smiles to say the rest of the words for him.

Because to him, Naruto was not only the village's personal sun,

--throwing light in places where shadow used to reside--, but before, when Gaara was completely alone in life, he had never known how wonderful it felt to have a friend who understood you so well even though you were a cold-blooded killer. Without his bright, burning star, Gaara doubted he could live, at least not as sane as he was now. He owed Naruto his life a thousand times over and until that debt was paid, not that there was a chance it ever would be, Gaara would give his whole soul to the Leaf shinobi.

A sudden breeze swept through the trail, upsetting the already naturally messy disarray of their hair. Gaara suddenly found himself on his back amidst the green leaves, a warm body covering his in an almost playful manner. The musky smell of moss and the more prominent scent of Naruto filled his senses and tan fingertips brushed away his bangs, tracing the 'love' symbol on his forehead. Lips parted slightly on a silent question and Naruto bent his mouth, brushing lightly over Gaara's own in a lazy, sensuous movement.

Eager for something more, Gaara experimentally raised his hips slightly, drawing a gasp from the younger male. Naruto straddled him more efficiently, stilling his movements with his own hips.

"What are you doing?" the blond asked softly, breath fanning out across his face. Gaara blinked once, twice, momentarily at a loss for words. Raising his eyes to meet the dark blue above him, he quickly leaned up and caught Naruto's lower lip between sharp little teeth and drew it in, sucking lightly on it with his tongue. Naruto emitted a sharp hiss, crushing his lips to Gaara's with such force that the redhead's elbows collapsed underneath their weight and Gaara found himself on his back once more, this time a warm tongue snaking its way into his mouth.

Naruto tasted like autumn, surprisingly since it was mid-spring, his warm, smoky taste overwhelming his senses. He half-expected him to taste like stale ramen but nope, just like a fire. It suited him.

He could tell Naruto was cautious with what to do with his tongue, having never kissed another guy like this before. Gaara was just as inexperienced, if not more so, having never really been intimate with _anybody._ So, all in all, their shared kisses were a little messy and uncoordinated but nice nonetheless.

Naruto broke away, a little breathless, when Gaara's hums of approval turned into little moans and pants, obviously thinking he was crossing some sort of invisible line or something. He pressed a firm hand on the center of his chest when he tried to pull the kitsune back down by the hips, telling him with his eyes he wasn't ready to take it that far just yet.

Naruto helped him up nonetheless, even though he was trying to fight down a blush that could put his hair to shame. Dusting off the back of his pants, he grabbed Naruto's hand and began pulling him back toward the direction of the village, his spirits high.

It was perfectly fine with him if Naruto wanted to take it slow. He would be happy enough if the boy only wanted his company.

It was the very most he could ask for.

* * *

_It's in the blood, it's in the blood_

_I met my love before I was born_

_He wanted love. I taste of blood_

_He bit my lip, and drank my war_

_From years before, from years before_

* * *

Naruto was caught between a rock and a hard place, not literally speaking of course. For a brief moment, he allowed his mind to wander to what might have happened in the forest if he hadn't pulled back in time. Despite his better judgment, he shuddered violently.

True, he had admitted to loving the brooding redhead but still…sex with a man? It was not a notion he wanted to entertain. By his standards, he was still very straight and a smaller, less noticeable part of him was slightly homophobic.

Oh, don't take that the wrong way. He didn't mind gays; he just never thought he could ever be that submissive in a relationship. Nope, if he _was_ gay he would most definitely not be bottoming. Naruto shook his head violently and rolled over in his bed, thinking about those sorts of things this late at night was not a good thing. He was tired from walking the better part of the day and sparring with Sasuke the later half, as Gaara had announced it was time for him to meet back up with the Hokage.

Now it was closing on around midnight and some foolish part of him was secretly hoping that Gaara would suddenly show up at his door and make up some excuse to stay the night. The gods must have been on his side for he heard a slight rapping on the windowpane next to him. He nearly yelped when he saw Gaara crouched on the ledge, his features bathed in moonlight, giving him an extremely feral but ethereal appearance.

Sliding open his window, the Suna nin slipped through, at once attaching his mouth to Naruto's. Gaara leaned back, a slight giggle escaping from his throat and Naruto eyebrow raised at the uncharacteristic sound.

"The meeting is still going on but I decided to sneak out. I can't stay long," he explained, lying back on the bed and dragging Naruto down with him.

Naruto tensed at first but soon relaxed in the boy's comforting embrace, pressing his ear to Gaara's chest to listen to his heartbeat, which he took pleasure in hearing it increase whenever he shifted to get more comfortable. The redhead intertwined their fingers and Naruto stretched their arms up to the moonlight, twisting their hands around to gaze at the striking difference in their skin tone. Gaara was so pale, resembling the moon and himself…he was the sun through and through.

Maybe they _were_ made for each other because the moon couldn't shine without the sun and Naruto was pretty sure he would be thrown off-orbit if his moon suddenly disappeared.

Pretty soon, the nighttime sounds began to drift farther and farther away and he was only vaguely aware before drifting off to sleep off a light peck placed upon his lips and the slide of his window sliding back into place.

He curled into the warmth that the redhead had left behind in the bed, taking comfort in the nostalgic scent of sandalwood and hugged the pillow close to his body, pretending it was something much more alive.

* * *

**Author's Note: Bwahaha! A lot of people thought that the previous chapter was the last but if anyone cares enough about me to read my oh-so-wonderful author's notes, you wouldn't have been so surprised to see this in your inbox, now would you?**

**Haha, I thank you all anyway for reading the story, let alone my rambling.**

**MoM**


	14. Whisper To Me That You're Worth It

**Carnal Attraction**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: So, here's the deal with this story. I'm hopelessly caught up in it myself but my Christmas break is coming to its close, therefore that means it's back to school and more work. I'll try my hardest to work on it as much as I can in my free time. I'll make sure to make this chapter extra-special to make up for it, though I'm not promising anything. Was beta-ed by me so I can't assure that everything's perfect.**

**Mood Song: Filth in the Beauty by The GazettE**

**Disclaimer: It's a well-known fact that none of us really own Naruto. It's all in our heads.**

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**Chapter 14: Whisper To Me That You're Worth It**

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Naruto huffed impatiently at his own cowardice and pushed upon the door a bit, the small bell at the top signaling his entrance. Frightened, he ran.

* * *

Startled, the shop owner looked up expectantly only to see a blur of orange dash in front of the door and duck beneath the window, out of sight. He raised an eyebrow as a kunai suddenly whizzed through the air and sliced the ribbon that the bell was hanging on, causing it to fall to the ground outside with a sharp ding. The person slowly emerged from his hiding spot and casually walked up to his door, acting as though nothing had happened.

* * *

Naruto ducked inside the shop quickly, lest someone he knew see him enter this sort of place. He made a slight grimace as he caught sight of the "toys" hung on the wall, all destined for some sick-minded prima Donna and her unsuspecting boy-toy in a wicked game of BDSM. 

He had to quickly remind himself why he had come to this type of place before he dashed back out, tail stuck firmly between his legs. Sex wasn't meant to be this creepy. He approached the counter where the balding shop owner was eyeing him with curiosity and suspicion.

"Excuse me," Naruto began, not being able to stop the blush that was forming on his face, "you see, I have a-a friend who just recently started dating another…guy. And he was hoping I could find some sort of instructional video or-or manual on how to go about his…first time with this man."

The shop owner, who name-tag read Kai, shot him an incredulous look but stepped from behind the counter, leading him to the corner section of the store. Naruto kept his eyes trained on the man's back as they passed rack upon rack of naked women; he didn't want to get a hard-on here, of all times.

Kai stopped in front of a wall, laden with book and videos of all sorts, and left Naruto to his own devices. Naruto's hands followed the older man, desperately wishing for him to come back. Slowly, he raised his head to stare up at the merchandise in front of him, turning quite green in the process.

_What is that guy doing? Is he? Holy sh…that's disgusting! How can anyone in their right mind possibly even **want** to be gay?!_

Naruto grabbed a video that looked the tamest and less-horrific and a small pamphlet from the shelf and scurried back up to the check-out counter, letting his eyes roam over the multitude of breasts in hopes of getting rid of the terrifying images inside his head.

"That will be 5,150 yen," Kai said with a smirk, placing the items in a large paper sack. Naruto threw down a couple of bills and bolted out the door with his purchase, not even waiting to see if he had change.

On the walk home, he kept the package hidden securely underneath his arm, throwing suspicious glances at the people passing him, who in turn wondered why Uzumaki Naruto was glaring at them. Once in the safety of his apartment, he laid the items out on his coffee table and stuffed the sack at the very bottom of the trash.

He then proceeded to sit and stare at the video, hoping its information would just leak out of the film and into his brain so it would save him the trouble of having to watch the damn thing. Inhaling loudly, he placed the disk into his DVD player and pressed play, curling up into the couch like a frightened kitten.

Cheesy pop music filled the room upon the beginning of the screen and Naruto held his breath as the actors came unto the set. He had watched porn before but about eight minutes into the movie, Naruto felt like he was going to lose his lunch. If _that's_ what it took to be gay, he wanted no part of it.

It looked painful, as that orifice was not commonly used as an entrance but more of an exit. Holding his hands out in front of him, he curled his fingers in a obvious display of disgust and jammed the stop button on his remote.

Sighing loudly, he tossed the remote on the cushion next to him and picked up the pamphlet, hoping to god it didn't have pictures. Some deity was smiling down upon him because when he flipped open the small book, it was just writing.

His azure eyes scanned the material for a moment before he then put that down, thoroughly disgusted with himself. He loved Gaara, didn't he? Then why was it so hard to picture them having sex? He clasped his head in his hands; it was no use. He was not physically attracted to Gaara; he wasn't attracted to men at all!

It was Gaara's mind and personality that caught him, not the way he looked. Though, he had to admit Gaara had a pair of the most mesmerizing teal eyes he had ever seen. He grabbed the video and book from the table and ran to his room, stashing it in his bottom drawer, beneath some outfits Sakura had bought for him in the hopes of getting him to branch out from that hideous, blinding orange.

He sunk down to the floor, his back pressed up against the stained wood, feeling quite disappointed with himself. And that's where Gaara found him an hour later, quickly putting a relieved smile on his face as the redhead rushed to his side, worry appearing on his face.

"No stop, it's nothing," Naruto tried to assuage his fears.

Gaara shook his head and pulled him down into a comforting embrace. "Something has to be wrong to have the ever-optimistic Naruto cowered on his bedroom floor in the dark."

Naruto smiled into his shoulder and pulled away, massaging the redhead's lips with his own. It didn't matter that sex with Gaara seemed impossible at this point, he still tasted like heaven.

"What's bothering you?" he felt against his lips and he broke away, taking a deep breath as he did so.

"It's just that…you're going to expect some things soon and…and I don't know what to do…and frankly, I'm scared," he faltered, lifting his head to meet Gaara's eyes at the end.

Something shone in those teal orbs and Naruto hoped it was some kind of understanding. Taking the redhead's hand, he brought it up to his lips and kissed each knuckle softly, loving the small sigh that escaped those lips.

"I take it you don't like," Gaara waved a hand down his body, "this." He smiled crookedly and bit playfully at Naruto's nose. "Would you like it if I grew a pair of breasts?"

Naruto laughed breathlessly, pushing Gaara onto the hardwood floor and straddling his hips. He found purchase on Gaara's side with his fingers and the boy wiggled mercilessly beneath his hands. "I don't think your village would appreciate their Kazekage coming back transsexual," he mumbled, stilling his fingers so Gaara could catch his breath.

The boy's cheeks were flushed from the struggle and his mouth was parted slightly, breathing hard. He looked vulnerable; a side that Naruto hadn't gotten to see yet. In his incapacitated state, Naruto was free to do with him what he wanted and the redhead could only struggle beneath his grip. Normally, Naruto wasn't such a sadist but lately, he was becoming a lot of things he never thought he would be.

Bending his head, he caught Gaara's mouth with his own, running his tongue along the seam of his lips, asking permission to go inside. Gaara complied and Naruto tasted of him; he could never get enough. He ran his tongue over the sharp teeth and sliding along the slick muscle that was Gaara's tongue. Moving his head to the side, despite Gaara's whimper of protest, he attacked the boy's neck with his tongue and teeth, nipping lightly along his collarbone.

Gaara tasted like something exotic, some hidden desert taste that left Naruto parched and yet, wanting more. The Suna shinobi bucked beneath him when he found a particularly sensitive spot behind his ear and he went to work ravishing the area thoroughly.

The redhead began to emit a series of small sounds, closely resembling squeaks and Naruto giggled softly into the soft skin of his throat to hear the fearsome Gaara make such noises. He pulled back to stare into the soft teal of his lover. His brow furrowed when he noticed something he never seen before. Upon closer inspection, Gaara's skin wasn't as flawless as it seemed but was instead littered with a myriad of soft, brown freckles.

He began to giggle uncontrollably, muffling the sound as he bit down softly on Gaara's lip ring. The redheaded man shot him a questioning look. "What's so funny all of a sudden?" he murmured into the mop of blond hair.

Ignoring his question, Naruto sat up on his haunches, pulling Gaara up with him. Silently, he pulled the long robe over his head, Gaara shooting him a startled glance before his head disappeared in the fabric.

Throwing the white cloth aside, Naruto pushed up the boy's mesh shirt and held the pale arm closer to his face. He smirked in triumph when he saw what he was looking for. Gaara's body was literally covered in the smallest freckles known to man.

"I wonder if I could count all of them," he murmured offhandedly.

Gaara shot him a confused smile and pulled Naruto down once more, brushing his lips across the blond's.

"It's impossible, I've tried. I didn't sleep for a very long time, remember," he said, further explaining when Naruto blinked in his own confusion.

Sighing gently, happy from his discovery, Naruto nestled his head on Gaara's chest, taking pleasure in listening to the _Tha-thump_ he heard.

"I know what you're scared of and I promise you, I'm not going to rush or force you into anything you don't want to do. I just hope you don't take too long because the truth is Naruto, I want you. Very badly, in fact," Gaara mumbled into his ear.

"I just don't know how I can find other men attractive. I've spent my whole life chasing after women; it's weird to suddenly start batting for the other team now."

"Then strike out," Gaara whispered, "if you can't stand the thought of being with another man that much, tell me to leave. I want you to be happy, far more than myself."

Naruto lifted his head up and grasped Gaara's chin firmly, forcing him to lock eyes with him. "Stop talking like that, I'm not going to tell you to leave. I love you Gaara, now quit it."

They continued to stare into each other's eyes for a moment longer and Naruto finally glanced away, lying his head back down on the other's chest. He had saw questioning in the other's eyes, something that should have not been there at all. But then again, it was all his fault for putting it there in the first place.

For he saw Gaara's pained, broken heart and behind that the words:

_Not yet, anyway._

* * *

**Author's Note: I ended on angst, I know. Don't slaughter me with your crazy fangirly-ness. XD At the beginning, I was trying to expand on the idea that Naruto was trying to sneak into the naughty porn shop without letting the owner know but apparently, he had which led Naruto to play it off like it wasn't him in the first place. Wanted to make sure that was clear.**

**I hope I've kept Naruto in character though I'm sure the sexy redhead is far from being himself. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	15. So I Hate Blood

**Carnal Attraction**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: So, I was working on this chapter in my Advanced English class instead of listening on how to outline my major test paper that's due in about two weeks. I thought this more interesting than, "Well, I don't know what teachers instilled in you that you had to include the author's last name when you cite your source and there's already internal documentation in your thesis blah blah blah." This about the point where I want to smash my head into the desk. I mean, why can't all teachers keep the same rules for essays! Is it really that hard? So due to being frustrated, stressed and still a little hung-over from New Years, I give you this marvelous piece of writing. :cough: I think a bunny rabbit died somewhere…**

**Mood Song: papamama nozumare nu baby by Miyavi**

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**Chapter 15: So I Hate Blood and Won't Be Just Like You**

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It was over a bowl of Cheerios that Naruto nearly killed his best friend, bowling him over with a question that made the onyx-eyed beauty uncharacteristically choke on the small circular pieces with much sputtering and arm-waving. Let's just be thankful Sasuke's too stubborn to die, at least not by asphyxiating on cereal.

"Sasuke, how do you have sex?"

That was the dreaded question that came from the idiot's mouth and Sasuke sat and stared at the blond, hoping it all was just a figment of his imagination. He glanced away to see if it was his mind playing cruel tricks on him but when he turned back around, there Naruto still sat, patiently awaiting the Uchiha's answer. He leaned forward on the table with his elbows, dropping his voice to a mere whisper. "You're not serious, are you?" The small tilt of the other's head informed him that no, he was not joking.

Sasuke breathed loudly through his nose and sat back in his chair, running a agitated hand through his black spikes. He leaned forward suddenly again, fixing Naruto with a glare.

"Hey hey, Sasuke-teme, it's just a simple question. You don't have to wish for me to spontaneously combust here," Naruto waved his hands in front of him, assuring the Uchiha that he wasn't going to kick him in his family jewels if he answered wrong. Then _who_ would repopulate the Uchiha clan?

"Did you just ask me how to have sex...?" Sasuke trailed off, counting to ten inside his head.

"Well yeah, I mean, it's not that big of a deal. I could just go ask Sakura instead, if you want."

"Are you really that stupid?" Sasuke cut him off, causing Naruto to drop his mouth open in shock. "It's not something you learn, it's…it's an instinctual thing, something you're just born knowing."

Naruto blinked at his best friend, at the moment Sasuke was making about as much sense as a brick wall in the middle of a special-ed playground. Grinning mischievously, he leaned forward onto the table as well, almost touching noses with the onyx-eyed man. He noticed that Sasuke had a really strong jaw and his nostrils flared when irritated. The fact that he might get the shit beaten out of him for invading Sasuke's personal space never crossed his mind. This is Naruto we're talking about here.

"Have you had sex?" Naruto whispered, crossing his eyes to make it look like Sasuke only had one.

"What the fuck kind of question is that?" the Uchiha replied, staring right back. Naruto cocked his head to the side, not losing eye contact with the man and reached a hand around to poke him in the side of the head.

"Do you pluck your eyebrows?"

Sasuke groaned loudly and pushed Naruto away. The kitsune grinned broadly and climbed up onto the table, sitting cross-legged between their bowls of cereal.

"Do you _mind_ removing your sluttish ass from my breakfast table?" Sasuke hissed out between clenched teeth.

Naruto smirked and leaned forward, burying his nose into the soft tresses of Sasuke's hair which, he had to admit, smelled wonderful. With a loud audible smack, he placed a big kiss on his scalp and poked both of his cheeks with his index fingers. "You know you're my best friend, right? And I would always be here for you no matter what, right?"

Sasuke leaned sideways, fixing Naruto with a suspicious stare. "Yes, what are you getting at, dobe?"

Naruto leaned back once more, toying with a frayed string on his black pants. "What does it feel like? Sex, I mean." He raised his eyes back up to meet Sasuke's, who in turn cocked an eyebrow suggestively.

"Would you like for me to show you?" smirking when a grimace of disgust crossed Naruto's face. Naruto scrabbled away from the Uchiha, careful not to knock over the bowl behind him. "That's repulsive, I don't want to have sex with_ you_, of all people!"

"I was joking loser, besides, I wouldn't screw you if someone gave me a million yen," Sasuke replied, leaning back on his chair legs.

Naruto hopped down from the table and grabbed his jacket from the back of Sasuke's couch, heading for the door. "Thanks for breakfast teme, but I gotta run." He zipped the jacket up to his neck to ward off the biting spring winds and opened the door, Sasuke right behind him.

"It's something you gotta experience for yourself, Naruto," Sasuke replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah yeah, see you later Sasuke," Naruto rushed out, hopping forward to place a hurried kiss on the other's cheek before dashing off in a blur of orange and black.

It never occurred to him that other people might find his and Sasuke's friendship odd, because of their often bouts of intimate friendship. Sure, he kissed Sasuke,--never on the lips, mind you--, but he did consider the Uchiha to be as close as a brother. Hugging him and showing affection toward him never seemed wrong. And he never felt like a homosexual.

So this was the question, why couldn't he become intimate with Gaara when he was able to kiss Sasuke so freely? It bothered him to no end, maybe it was because he knew the relationship between him and Sasuke would always stay the same. Even if he was attracted to other men, he would never be able to like Sasuke purely beyond a platonic level, it just wasn't possible.

Stopping by the shop the he frequented regularly, Naruto picked up some takeout and headed back to his own apartment to wait for Gaara to get back from the ever-tedious and numerous in number, "Kage meetings". Knowing Tsunade, they were probably drinking sake and making fun of some poor soul.

Not finding much to do until lunch, Naruto kicked back on his couch and flipped aimlessly through the channels, wishing that something besides soap operas were on. But because his couch seemed to have a tendency to make one nostalgic, Naruto was soon lost to the world, having drifted off into a peaceful nap.

* * *

It wasn't hardly an hour later that Naruto's eyes drifted back open and he could see the sun still shining high in the sky, filtering through his curtains. His house was unnaturally quiet for once and a unusual smell lingered in the air. He couldn't quite make out exactly what it was but it reminded him of summers spent with Iruka when he was younger.

Lying there, the sun shining on a patch on his legs, he felt a faint tickle in the back of his nose and before he knew it, warm tears were trickling from his eyes and down the sides of his cheeks. He didn't know why or how but he suddenly had the overwhelming urge to cry. He furiously wiped at his eyes, shocked at how much moisture was there. What was wrong with him? The whole problem with Gaara wasn't getting him this bent out of shape, was it?

A slight turn of his doorknob brought him to a sitting position as the individual that was plaguing his thoughts entered, softly closing the door behind him. He was dreadfully silent and he could hear each _tack_ of the redhead's sandals as he slowly crossed the room to him, head parallel to the floor.

Wordlessly, he pushed Naruto back and climbed onto his lap, curling up and pressing his face into the blond's jacket. Pale fingers gripped in nervous tension at his forearms and Naruto shifted his weight evenly so they would both be more comfortable.

"Long day?" he murmured, wanting to stroke Gaara's hair but could not, due to the grip on his arms. He felt a slow nod against his chest and he sighed loudly, finally ripping his arms away and embracing the smaller man.

"My time here is coming to its end. I have to return home two days from now." Gaara raised his head to look at him. "I don't want to leave you."

Naruto felt his heart skitter its merry way up his throat and his stomach jumped. He couldn't leave _now_, not when Naruto was so close to dealing with his inner battle. Okay, that was a lie. He still had a long way to go. He just didn't want to spend another immeasurable amount of time from the redhead; it pained him to tell him goodbye each morning as the Kage left for his usual meetings.

Sitting up with Gaara in his lap, he forced the Suna nin to look him in the eye. "Come on, let's go out. If these are going to be your last days here for a while, I want you to have the most fun possible."

Pulling a startled Gaara behind him, Naruto slipped on his sandals and exited his apartment into the warm sunshine, not bothering to even stop and lock the door behind him. Halfway to town, Naruto skidded to a halt, almost causing Gaara to crash into the back of him. He shot the redhead a sheepish smile. "Do you want lunch?" completely forgetting that he had takeout back at his apartment.

"No, it's okay. I had a late breakfast," Gaara replied, confused at how eager Naruto could be suddenly.

Naruto grinned cheerfully and squeezed the other's hand, pulling him into the direction of the market. He didn't know how much fun you could have in that sort of place but he was sure going to make the best of it.

* * *

Gaara noticed that as soon as they reached the throngs of people, Naruto dropped his hand and let his own hang limply by his side. He sighed heavily out of his nose. Sure, Naruto was still a little wary of making their relationship public but he was never going to get any better if he didn't practice. Discreetly moving closer to the blond, he stood on tiptoe to whisper into his ear.

"Naruto, take my hand."

The kitsune jumped, obviously startled and gaped at him, mouth hanging wide like a primordial fish. He scrunched his face up, his eyebrows drawing together in a frown. Gaara noticed that his hand subconsciously disappeared behind his back. "But-but, there's people around," the blond whispered fiercely.

Gaara resisted the urge to roll his eyes and snatched Naruto's hand from behind his back. He held it softly but firm enough to snag it back if Naruto made a move to pull away. "Just act natural. Like you do when we're alone."

He saw the boy's Adam's apple bob in his throat and the wild, carnal look shining in his eyes. Was Naruto so afraid of what the other villagers would think of him? He supposed he would be too, if he actually cared what the people in his own village thought of him, that is. Naruto had spent his whole life getting these people to accept him and it was a delicate relationship.

He noticed that a lot of the villagers were staring at them, or more so their intertwined hands and he knew Naruto noticed it too because he kept his head down, eyes trained on the pavement. "We were going to do something fun?" Gaara asked softly, wanting to break the sudden anxiety spell that the blond was suffering from.

Naruto nodded slowly but then shook his head, stopping and going back the way they had came. "No, let's just go back to my place. I'm sorry Gaara, I was going to make your last days here exciting but I suddenly don't feel good."

Nodding numbly, the redhead followed him back to his apartment, wincing when the blond slammed the door behind them upon reaching it. He stood standing as Naruto collapsed onto the couch and buried his face into the cushions, groaning loudly. "Did you see them!? Did you see the way they looked at us?! Like we were some circus freaks! They haven't changed, none of them have!" the boy suddenly burst out, throwing his hands up in exasperation and facing Gaara.

Acting on a split-second whim, Gaara crossed the room in record time and pushed Naruto back on the couch, straddling his waist. The blond emitted a squeak of surprise and grasped onto Gaara's pale arms to gain their balance. "W-What are you doing?" Naruto asked, confusion written clearly all over his face.

"Distracting you from the matter at hand," he replied simply. With that he suddenly rocked his hips forward, not quite sure what he was doing but using a technique he had learned from Kankuro's perverse magazines that he had been forced to read by his older sibling. Naruto's breath came out in a long whoosh that tapered into a soft moan, a reddish hue stretching across his cheekbones.

Gaara was left in a similar predicament, startled when a heated spike flashed through his body and straight to his groin. He didn't know his body could react like that by a simple touch. Experimentally, he rolled his hips again, satisfied at the high mewl that sounded, either from Naruto or him, he did not know.

Naruto was breathing hard beneath him, his tan fingers flexing on the material of his sleeves. His eyes were lidded and had turned a very dark cobalt in color, thick eyelashes fluttering helplessly on reddened cheeks. Gaara had to kiss him, the urge leaping from some hidden source deep within his body.

Roughly, he brought their mouths together, rocking forward once more and dipping his tongue into Naruto's mouth when it opened in a gasp. Naruto still had that smoky flavor on his palate and Gaara gave up trying to describe it. Just let it wash over his own senses, making soft noises of approval in the back of his throat.

Pulling away from the blond's quite teasing tongue, Gaara went for his neck, laving the area with small nips and licks, sucking on one particularly soft spot till a bright red mark was left behind. Maybe those creepy magazines Kankuro showed him weren't so bad after all.

He continued to push his pelvis relentlessly into Naruto's, thoroughly enjoying the high keen that was coming from his beautiful mouth. Another spark of fire shot through his body and he suddenly felt like he could compare himself to a rubber band, pulled back and ready to spring from the tension. He was impossibly hard inside his pants and the fire kept spreading till it nearly overwhelmed him and he felt light-headed.

Naruto's lips found his own and licked at them softly, making the inferno in his abdomen grow in strength. He pushed his hips into Naruto's and rotated them roughly, feeling the boy beneath him shudder.

The blond's body suddenly stiffened, his back arched upwards into Gaara's chest and he let out a long shuddering moan and Gaara could feel the boy's member twitch violently beneath his thighs. He was suddenly pushed sideways, head connecting sharply with the arm of the couch and Naruto was dashing towards the bathroom, sliding the door shut behind him and the soft clink as the bolt slid into place.

Gaara sprawled out on the couch, calming his brain so he could figure out the best way to get rid of the raging hard-on in his pants. He lie there, thinking of dead animals and his brother showering and slowly, with a little extra effort, he could feel the tension diminish. Turning his head slightly, he stared at the rice paper bathroom door, wishing it would slide open and Naruto would come sweep him up into a comforting embrace.

"Naruto," he ventured, "I love you."

A soft sound was heard afterwards and Naruto sniffing loudly. "I know…I love you so much." A quiet cry was heard from the bathroom. "I'm just…I'm so sorry, so sorry."

Naruto's soft sobs echoed around the apartment and Gaara stared up at a strange pattern on the wallpaper, almost wishing he could blend in with the ink and becoming nothing. "There's nothing to be sorry for," he added quietly though he doubted the blond could hear him. It felt like the distance between them had never been greater.

And as the situation now stood, it was just going to keep growing wider.

* * *

**Author's Note: A nice dosing of depressing angst. I'm sure most of you are sitting there sharpening your various instruments of death and I'm over here at my house, sucking on a Starburst and oblivious to the great murderous intent radiating from homes around the world.**

**I know Naruto is being really confusing right now but that's going to be cleared up soon. He loves Gaara, truly he does. I want to express that and the reason for why he escaped into the bathroom was because he felt disgusted with himself that he was able to reach his release via another male. It'll be explained in greater detail next chapter. That is, if all of you haven't given up on me.**

**:puppy eyes:**

**Send me love. Kami knows I need it.**

**MoM**


	16. Though I'm Closer to Wrong

**Carnal Attraction**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: It was on my six or seventh Starburst that it began to taste a little funny. Weird, yes. But it really tasted like me getting impaled with those various weapons of death by angered and/or frustrated GaaNaru fan girls. Then lo and behold, I get an inbox full of reviews. :scratches head sheepishly:**

**I also just realized that I put GaaNaru just five seconds ago when this story is, in fact, a NaruGaa. :D**

**I would like to dedicate this story to Ladelle, a remarkably talented Fanfiction writer, and her mother who is currently in the hospital. For those who pray, I encourage you to do so.**

**I have to say honestly, I went back and redid this chapter on several occasions. I mean, this is the turning point for the story and every time I sat down and typed it out, it always seem so rushed and fake. I really hope this final product is up to par.**

**Mood Song: Sing For Absolution by Muse**

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**Chapter 16: Though I'm Closer To Wrong, I'm No Further From Right**

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It had to be about two hours later that Naruto worked up enough resolve to leave the sanctuary of his bathroom, wiping furiously at his reddened, puffy eyes with the sleeve of his jacket.

Quietly sliding the bolt back, he pushed the door open, eyes sweeping the room immediately for Gaara. The redhead was still lying on the couch where Naruto had left him, his face turned up to gaze at some spot on the wall. Dropping to his knees in front of the couch, Naruto brushed the crimson bangs away from his forehead.

"I'm going to go for a walk…to think about some things. I'll be back in about an hour," he murmured into the soft fabric of Gaara's shirt. "Will you be here when I get back?" he added, curiosity picking at him.

The redhead's eyes never left the spot on the ceiling and no reply came from his mouth. Naruto leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his unresponsive lips.

"Please, don't leave me," he muttered before standing and making his way to the door. He paused before closing it behind him, feeling the tears well up behind his eyelids once more. "Just…please don't leave." The door clicked quietly and Naruto stood there for a moment, on his dilapidated porch, and waited. Waited for the door to suddenly open behind him and a pair of arms to embrace him around the middle. Waited for his stupid head to do what his stupid heart wanted. Waited for the rain in this seemingly gorgeous afternoon.

He shouldn't have felt so disappointed when none of those things happened but yet, his eyes watered and stung and he stumbled down his steps, trying to put distance between him and the boy he loved. The moon that kept pulling him closer on his gravitational pull till they both crashed in a mess of solar systems and black holes. Stars do burn out in the end.

He found himself in the alley, the tan-yellow walls of the fences closing in around him. This was the first place he met Gaara, all those years ago, when Kankuro had threatened Konohomaru. The place had a bitter nostalgia to it and Naruto picked up his pace, not wanting to be stuck there with his memories any longer.

He had felt so disgusted with himself earlier, knowing that even though his mind didn't find other men attractive, his body sure had. Thinking back on it, he realized it was pretty childish of him to run away like that. But what was done was done and he couldn't change it.

He had created a rift between him and Gaara, an impossible abyss that separated them. Hell, Gaara probably thought he didn't like him and was just using him. He slammed his fist into a nearby tree, causing wood splinters to rain down on his sandals.

"Do you think the tree really deserves that?" a voice called from his left. He spun around to see Neji leaning up against a nearby building, twirling a kunai around on his index finger.

He blinked, ashamed that the prodigy genius had caught him in a moment of weakness. "Shouldn't you be somewhere doing boring political shit," he caught himself saying, surprised that thought had actually leaked its way out of his mouth.

Neji laughed, a warm hollow sound, and shouldered away from the wall, approaching him slowly. "You know Naruto, contrary to popular belief, I do have a life outside of my clan. In all honesty, I was planning to go to the nearest bar, attach a bottle of sake to my mouth, and proceed to get totally shit-faced."

"But wouldn't other peo…"

"I don't care what others think of me because at the end of the day if my opinion of myself is still good, then it doesn't really matter what they say, does it?"

Naruto paused, letting Neji's statement sink into his brain. The lavender-eyed man patted him on the shoulder and began to walk away. "You know Naruto, the people of Konoha need to know that there are others like us and we don't plan on changing for them."

"But I don't like me…" Naruto was cut off suddenly when a rough spark of electricity shot through his brain, firing up underused neurons and causing a small metaphorical light bulb to blink above his head.

Everything that Neji was saying was suddenly making sense. All this time, it wasn't him that he was afraid of but more so the opinions of the people in the village. He thought about it and he decided if he made love to Gaara he would still feel good about himself as a person at the end of the day.

His self-epiphany rattled his body, causing his fingertips to shake in what could only be described as anticipation. Adrenaline flowed through his veins at high speeds as he took off for the nearest drug store. He didn't know much about making love with another man but he did know enough that he was going to need items to prepare them with.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, a small brown package in hand, he walked back to his apartment, the sudden adrenaline he felt morphing into nervousness. What if Gaara had left while he was gone? He hadn't really expected him to stay, not after how he treated him. His apartment was quiet when he returned and his heart fell through his body and hit the floor with a loud thud. He should have known he would always find a way to screw things up.

As soon as his body hit the sofa, the toilet flushed in the other room and Gaara emerged from the bathroom, looking quite surprised to see Naruto back so early. Naruto barely gave the redhead a chance to speak before he was sweeping him up in his arms, crashing their mouths together.

The Suna nin hummed in his throat and tossed his head back, spilling his silky crimson hair around his ears. Naruto ran his tongue over the other's lips, shifting Gaara's sharp angles around so they would both be more comfortable.

He proceeded to stumble down the hallway to his bedroom, Gaara emitting a husky giggle when Naruto had trouble getting them both through the doorway. He could feel his heart beating within his chest, reality suddenly hitting him like lead, making him realize just exactly he was about to do.

If this was Naruto on any other day, he would have promptly dropped the shinobi and staggered away, running from his own shame. I guess it's a good thing he finally made up his mind. He concluded that he was still very straight; there was no one on the earth that could make him turn gay willingly. Unless that individual was Gaara.

A soft thump issued as Naruto dropped to his bed, Gaara spread out beneath him. The redhead's breathing was already labored and his eyes were focused on the window, almost as if he was afraid of what was happening.

"You don't want this?" Naruto spoke, eyebrows furrowing in confusion with the underlying of disappointment.

Gaara whipped his head around to make eye contact, a tongue darting out to sweep nervously along his lower lip. "No…no I want this. It's just…I've never…"

Naruto's eyes softened as he realized what Gaara was trying to convey. The redhead was just as much as a virgin as he was. He mentally kicked himself in the head for the latter. Oh boy, was this going to be awkward?

Naruto shuddered underneath the intense mint gaze that Gaara then fixed him with, feeling fingertips grazing along his clothed lower back. And airy feeling was quickly taking root in his stomach almost as if a thousand butterflies, tripping off acid, were invading his body. He giggled softly, anything to break the sudden quiet nervousness that had fallen over him.

"I have to ask. What changed your mind about me?" Gaara murmured, shifting his own weight to his elbows, bringing his upper body even closer to Naruto's.

"I think…I just got tired of running…and I think I want to be finally forgiven," the blond replied, bowing his head to where his bright fringe obscured his eyes.

He felt a pair of hands intertwine around the nape of his neck and lips hovered inches below his own. "You were forgiven the moment you chased after me when I first came back here," Gaara breathed lightly, removing a hand from the blond's neck and bringing it around to the zipper of his black and orange jacket.

The noise of metal clicking against the threads sounded loudly in the otherwise now silent room. Naruto shuddered once more as Gaara's smooth hands pushed his jacket off his shoulders till it was bunched around his elbows, effectively trapping his arms from moving.

It had been a warm afternoon so Naruto had decided to discard his usual mesh undershirt and opt for the jacket only. Gaara's hands traced over tan abs, smiling at the faint line of nearly invisible blond hairs trailing down from below his navel. Those same pale fingers hooked around the waistband of his pants, his other hand yanking down the zipper in one swift movement.

Naruto exhaled loudly, his mind drawing blanks. He knew he was supposed to be doing something but he found it impossible to concentrate when Gaara's fingers were hovering right over his groin. Using his feet, he kicked off his sandals, his hands working on getting Gaara out of his own clothes.

He noticed with detached interest that the redhead was wearing his maroon outfit and it was one hell of a bastard to get off. Could one garment have this many friggin' buttons and straps crisscrossing it at one time?!

Finally after much quiet cursing and glaring at the amused expressions that flitted across Gaara's face, the top fell away and Naruto tossed it across the room, not really caring where it landed. His breath caught in his throat as he realized how completely flawless, --completely beautiful-- Gaara's skin was. The tiny freckles just added to the masterpiece.

Trying to still his hand from shaking too much, he ran a finger down the middle of the boy's chest, circled his navel and hooked it on his pants, bringing the redhead flush to him and capturing him in a passionate kiss.

Gaara moaned into the kiss, pushing Naruto's pants to his ankles where they were then kicked off to fall from the bed in a tangled heap. Naruto could feel himself become hard in his boxers and he adjusted his hips so he wouldn't stab his lover in the thigh. It was all for naught as Gaara simply shifted back and arched upwards, bringing their nether regions to come crashing together in sweet bliss.

Naruto quite literally had the breath knocked from him at the simple touch, pausing for a moment to get his breathing underway and mind un-fogged. This was incredibly unreal, so much more gratifying than he thought it would be. He just hoped he knew what he was doing when the time came, which was starting to look pretty soon, judging by the heavy pants coming from Gaara and the fact that their clothing was becoming more and more scarce.

They were both down to their boxers and Gaara was bucking up into him quite whorishly, a term he never thought he would apply to the redhead. Naruto captured his lips gently, sweeping his tongue into the warm cavern, never able to get enough of the essence that was Gaara.

Slowly, he tugged on the boy's boxers to remove them, not once breaking eye contact with Gaara. He was far too nervous to do that. Finally, the cloth came away easily in his hands and he dropped it somewhere behind him, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.

"It's okay to look. Look at me," Gaara whispered reassuredly, moving his lips lightly over the blond's shoulder. Cautiously, Naruto moved his eyes downward, not stopping till he met the juncture of those pale thighs. Gaara was impressive for his small frame, that was for sure. Naruto took pleasure, like all guys secretly do, that he was still bigger.

He kissed him then when an apprehensive look crossed Gaara's face, along with removing his own boxers. This was it, the moment that Naruto would prove to himself whether he was gay or not. Fumbling for the small bottle he had purchase earlier, he allowed his free hand to smooth down the Suna nin's body, twitching slightly before grasping on Gaara's already hard member.

The redhead gasped loudly, throwing his head back and exposing his pale, delicate neck. Naruto smiled, in spite of himself, and slid his hand upward, relishing in the hiss that followed. His fingers found purchase on the synthetic tube and he brought it out, laving his fingers with the clear liquid.

He had only a faint idea what to do with this, after reading it in that pamphlet he had bought earlier that week. Hooking an arm beneath Gaara's legs he bent them toward the boy's body, fingers tracing seductively down his lower back. Gaara stiffened suddenly, apparently realizing what was about to happen. Naruto stroked his member once more, whispering little nothings in his ear to get him to calm back down.

The pale body beneath him sunk back down onto the bed, springs creaking lightly at both of their weights. Crooking his finger, Naruto slowly pressed into Gaara's entrance, noticing the wince that soon followed. Seeing that this action was going nowhere fast, he added another finger. He spread them in a V-shape, watching Gaara's face the whole time.

His red tresses were in a disarray, bangs plastered to his forehead with sweat. His mouth was parted slightly, warm breath filtering out in hard gasps, his body not used to the intrusion it was experiencing.

Adding a third finger, a soft moan escaped the redhead's mouth and Naruto withdrew after a few moments. He hated hearing the sound of pain come from that mouth. He bent and brushed his lips over Gaara's heated forehead and angled his pale legs over his shoulders.

"You ready?" Naruto panted, finding speaking to be suddenly difficult. He felt physically sick at the moment, his own nerves eating at him. Gaara nodded his head and moved his hand to latch onto Naruto's forearm. Gently, Naruto positioned himself at Gaara's entrance and rotated his hips forward.

The pale fingers on his forearm suddenly turned violent, blunt nails digging red half-moons into his flesh. Gaara arched sideways in an attempt to escape the pain that Naruto knew must be coursing through his body.

Swiftly, deciding it would probably be better this way, Naruto pushed himself all the way in. Gaara twisted this time, fingernails clawing into the exposed flesh of his back, a choked cry escaping his lips. If it wasn't for the unbelievable amount of heat cradling his member within Gaara's body, Naruto was sure he would have felt sick for causing the redhead so much unneeded pain. He reasoned to himself that if it felt this good for him then surely, the receiver would feel just as well eventually.

Pulling back out slowly, Naruto watched Gaara's expression for any sort of change. A small flicker of something made itself known in those mint orbs and a soft puff of air rushed out of his mouth. The Suna nin suddenly shifted forward, locking his ankles behind Naruto's head, inadvertently bringing the kitsune back in him.

A groan pushed past Naruto's lips and he bit down on his tongue, tasting blood on his palate. Kami, this felt like heaven. He thrusted into the smaller boy at a steady pace, both breathing heavily and skin damp. Naruto's thighs shivered from the exertion of having to support his body weight and he brought his knees further up on the bed, pushing himself even deeper inside Gaara.

The redhead moaned in pleasure, head whipping back and forth, fingers flexing on the sheets beneath him. His member lay in between them, hard as ever, and Naruto grasped onto it, forcing a groan from Gaara. He stroked him gently to the hard pounding of his thrusts, heat building up in his own groin.

Stars burst behind his eyelids and he angled his hips to increase the tension inside him. Almost instantaneously, Gaara cried out brokenly, his sharp teeth coming down on Naruto's wrist. Naruto paused as hard as it was, not sure if he had hurt the boy in some way. Gaara, deciding he was having none of this, bucked up to him, telling him to continue.

Blond eyebrows furrowed and Naruto brought himself down in the exact same way as before, hearing Gaara cry out once more. Apparently, he had hit something inside him that the redhead seemed to like. He continued to thrust in and out of him, hitting his prostate repeatedly. At least, that's what he thought they said it was in that pamphlet.

Not soon after, Gaara released the most erotic sound Naruto had ever heard, a cross between a whine and a moan and he came all over their stomachs. Naruto resisted the urge to grimace at the clear-white liquid that coated his abdomen. The tension in his groin returned full-force and Naruto gave a couple more quick, hard thrusts and felt the band inside of him suddenly snap, his own release coming forth.

White-hot flashes burst behind his closed eyelids and his brain felt all mushy. His limbs shivered and he could feel goosebumps pop up over his flesh. Gaara panted beneath him and he felt lips push up against his own sloppily, a hot tongue licking his lower lip in a soothing manner.

Naruto blinked open his eyes, waiting for the blue orbs to focus on the person beneath him. Gaara had his rare smile on his face, looking positively spent. Gently, he scooted out from under him, grasping the edge of the sheets and tugging them from the mattress. He then pulled Naruto down beside him and pulled the blanket up over them, curling into his side and sighing softly.

Naruto let his fingers roam through the damp crimson tresses, fingernails scraping lightly at the boy's scalp. Gaara emitted a raspy purr and threw an arm over Naruto's stomach.

"Now leave me the hell alone and sleep," he murmured into his side.

Naruto was about to mention how is was still daylight outside and it was probably three in the afternoon at the latest but he caught sight of the blissful rapture on Gaara's face and promptly shut his mouth.

Whatever needed be said could wait till later. It wasn't like Naruto was going to let him go anytime soon anyway. Exhaling gently, he rested his cheek on his lover's hair, drifting off with the scent of sandalwood, sex and burnt-out stars.

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**Author's Note: Gah, 10 pages on Word. Not for sure if it turned out exactly the way I wanted. But if you like it, then that's fine. If you don't, well just hope that the next chapter is up to your standards. This chapter is largely un-beta'ed so if you see any large mistakes please bring them to my attention.**

**Hugs, kisses and all that shit.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	17. I Can't Keep My Eyes Off Of You

**Carnal Attraction**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Comments: Well I didn't want it to seem I was going cold turkey on all you guys who are really into this, so I've been working on the next chapter for this in my spare time. I didn't want to leave it hanging with so many unanswered questions and the such so I'm going to clear it all up in this chapter and the next. Yeah, that's typed correctly. This is the second to last installment of this fic, bringing Carnal Attraction to a grand total of 18 chapters.**

**Although, if I locate a muse, find some good listening music and create another plot line, there could very well be a sequel to this, if you all want one. So it all depends on how many people really look forward to reading one if I write it. And of course, my schoolwork is scrunched in with my already hectic schedule.**

**Mood Song: Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell (Probably the most dramatic orchestral piece I've ever come across so far)**

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**Chapter 17: I Can't Keep My Eyes Off Of You**

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Gaara surprised himself when he slept through the rest of the day and that night as well. Insomnia had become a habit of his for a long time and it was still hard for him to sleep the whole night through. It was around six or seven in the morning when he was awoken by the always-pleasant call of nature.

Stiffly, he slid away from the warm spot he had created, curious as to why Naruto was not there, drooling away and murmuring nonsense words in his sleep.

After relieving himself, he padded lightly into the living room, where a soft blue glow punctuated the stillness of the apartment accompanied by the sound of rich laughter drifting from the re-run on television. The blond was slouched down in the armchair, a bowl of Cheerios balanced on his drawn-up knees. A small grin was plastered on his face, no doubt amused by the antics on-screen.

He had yet to notice the redhead's presence so Gaara concealed himself in the shadows of the hallway, sliding down against the wall to the floor. The deep voice of David Letterman carried to his ears along with Naruto's quiet giggling.

A smile graced his lips and he leaned his head into his palm, curling his bare toes against the coolness of the hardwood floor. It all still seemed like a dream to him. His body still ached from earlier but it hurt in a good way. Naruto was in his life now, though he had to reason with himself that the blond had him moments after he defeated him in battle nearly eight years ago during the Chuunin exams.

The clank of the spoon hitting Naruto's cereal bowl sounded and then a quiet curse as both items clattered to the floor. The armchair creaked as the blond got up and Gaara listened as Naruto's footsteps made their way across the room towards the hallway.

They abruptly stopped and Gaara looked up to lock eyes with Naruto, whose shirt and boxers were soaked through with the spilt milk. Naruto smiled crookedly at him and entered the bedroom, coming out shortly later in a fresh set of boxers.

He crouched down in front of him and placed a hand to his forehead. "What are you doing sitting out here in the hallway? Come on, get up, you'll catch a cold on this floor."

The blond helped him to his feet and led him towards the living room. "I suppose you aren't tired anymore, you slept nearly all night. It's almost seven o'clock." He threw a towel onto the mess of milk and Cheerios and flopped back down onto the armchair, pulling on Gaara's wrist in an invitation to join him.

Gaara clambered up into the chair, laying his head on the blond's shoulder and pulling his legs up to rest on the other's lap. Gentle fingers found purchase in his hair and he sighed at the blissful feeling of nails scratching lightly at his scalp.

"Sasuke and Sakura wanted me to train with them this morning so we can meet up for lunch if you want," the chest rumbled beneath him. Gaara nodded his head, he needed to go in to see Tsunade anyways to clear up some last-minute plans on the negotiations.

"Sometime, later this evening, can we go to this place I saw on my way here? It's not that far from the borders," Gaara inquired, remembering the quiet solitude of the wheat field he had passed and how the tall stalks had looked like golden ocean waves.

Naruto smiled and ruffled the hand in his hair, pushing Gaara up from the chair and propelling him towards the bedroom. "We certainly can but we both need to get a move on or else Tsunade will butcher you and my teammates with disown me."

Gaara smiled into the random shirt he was pulling on and "accidentally" kneed Naruto in the butt while he was bending over to pick up a pair of pants. Amidst the startled squawks of said blond, they both managed to get dressed and out the door in record time.

They walked in silence, Naruto's index and middle finger slipped comfortably through one of Gaara's belt loops, oblivious to the sudden shy blush that had covered his cheeks. The redhead was further surprised when they entered a small group of villagers, making their morning runs, that Naruto didn't remove his fingers but kept them looped through his pants.

Gaara smiled at the bold confidence that the blond had acquired in such a short time. Experimentally, Gaara wound his own fingers around the other's wrist, catching the smirk that flashed across the other's lips.

An elderly couple glanced up at them passing from their roost on their front porch, the man's face turning down in a disgusted grimace.

"Damn animals," Gaara heard the man mutter under his breath and to his utmost shock, Naruto pivoted on his heel and stopped in front of the couple.

"Good morning, Yutaka-san, Chizu-san," he said politely, nodding his head respectively. "I hope your son's mission went well. I heard he was sent to the Tea Country."

Yutaka, the elderly man, looked at a loss for words. Naruto flashed a bright grin and bowed slightly. "Shitsurei," he added, turning back around and continuing on his way, forcing Gaara to stumble after him, still reeling in his quiet shock.

Naruto began to laugh softly and glanced over at Gaara, the bright grin from earlier still spread over his face. "Bet I confused him good, huh?"

Gaara snorted his own amusement and leaned over to place a gentle kiss right below the blond's ear. Naruto giggled in response and copied the action, his lips lingering a bit longer on the other's neck. "If we're not careful, we're going to get distracted and we will be really late."

Gaara pulled away from the other in a sigh. "It's not like I have any fun in those meetings, anyway," he pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto reeled back unexpectedly, his mouth opening in a wide "o". Gaara blinked, discreetly crossing his eyes to see if there was anything stuck to his nose.

"Are-are you moping?" Naruto asked incredulously, eyebrows raised so far that they seemingly disappeared into his hairline.

Gaara blushed crimson and turned away. "No," he mumbled beneath his breath, walking ahead. He heard Naruto laugh behind him and he suddenly felt himself being lifted like a sack of potatoes into the air.

He emitted a most undignified squeak as he came down on the other's shoulders, hands shooting down instinctively to tug roughly on the other's hair. Naruto merely giggled and grasped his legs to hold him aloft, making his way to the Hokage Tower.

Gaara felt very tall for the first time in his life and it was the day both of them found out the redhead was deathly afraid of heights. Though the real pity should go to Naruto, who had to suffer his hair being pulled from his scalp, leaving nice, quite noticeable, thin patches.

* * *

Naruto itched nervously at the bandage on his wrist, anxiety settling in his gut and corroding away at the lining of his stomach. Would Gaara approve? Was it too bold a move to pull after all? His feet shuffled loudly against the gravel on the road. He was meeting up with Gaara at the gates of Konoha, take-out in hand. He was going to fulfill his promise and take the boy to the field he had saw as a going-away gift.

His heart suddenly seized up in his chest. He hadn't really let Gaara leaving process past his brain filter and now that it had, he found himself not wanting the redhead to leave. How long would it be before they saw each other again? He doubted that his love for the boy would diminish at all, despite their long distances. And truthfully, Suna wasn't all_ that_ far away. He could visit whenever he felt like it.

A ghost of a smile flitted across his eyes and he hurried his feet to make it to the gates quicker. Gaara was already there, waiting patiently, leaning up against a nearby tree with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

Naruto poised his foot in mid-air, thinking he could startle the boy but Gaara merely shifted on the bark and spoke quietly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Dejected, Naruto let his foot fall to the ground heavily and a pout formed across his lips. He hoisted the pack higher on his shoulder and reached out for Gaara's hand. "You ready to go?"

The redhead silently slipped his hand into his and allowed himself to be pulled along the road. It would take nearly half the day to get to the field that Gaara had saw and on their walk, Naruto racked his brain for things to talk about to pass the time.

Gaara, on the other hand, looked quite content with not saying anything and Naruto was left staring off into space. His realization from earlier still bugged him to a great extent, his fingers clenching subconsciously on the strap of the pack.

A large part of him was worried that during their long absences from each other, Gaara would grow bored of him and drift away. And an even smaller part of him was worried that _he_ would be the one to find someone else, as unlikely as that was.

He shook his head vigorously to rid him of such plaguing thoughts. Gaara had still been in love with him over the time span of five long years. Surely, he would be just the same after a few months! And what reason did Naruto have for leaving? He had just come to terms with his own sexual preferences, so why leave now? It kind of defeated the whole purpose of self-epiphanies.

Feeling suddenly light, Naruto began to hum a song under his breath. He noticed Gaara casting his eyes askew at him but the redhead didn't say anything. They continued this way until the sun became low in the sky, signaling that they were near to their destination.

Gaara began to lead the way from here, knowing better than Naruto on how to get there. He followed the redhead through a dense patch of shrubbery until they broke through the trees to find themselves, true to his word, in the field that the Suna shinobi had talked about.

The tall wheat stalks blew gently in the cool evening breeze and the sun cast a golden glow over the field, illuminating the natural burnt orange highlights in Gaara's fiery crimson tresses.

Taken aback by the sudden beauty the shinobi displayed, Naruto pulled lightly on the other's hand to lead him to the center of the field, pulling them both down to a sitting position.

Gaara's eyes look on a look of confusion and Naruto wasted no time in removing the stark-white bandages surrounding his left wrist. The wraps fell away to reveal a tattoo.

Breath leaving in a nice whoosh, Gaara gingerly picked up his hand and brought it closer to him, admiring the dark blue ink that swirled over the other's wrist to form the perfect shape of a crescent moon.

"So, even when you're not with me, you never _really_ leave me," Naruto whispered, bringing the other's chin up so he could gaze into his mint orbs. He was startled to see the surface take on a glassy appearance and tears well up behind thick lashes.

He quickly found himself on his back as Gaara tackled him blindside, lithe arms wrapping around his midsection. A hot face buried into his side as the redhead shuddered above him. Naruto was at a loss for what to do, this was new, Gaara hadn't ever acted like this before.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he witnessed him cry.

His emotions suddenly took a wild u-turn as he felt nimble fingers work at the zipper of his pants. Cool hands found themselves underneath his jacket, smoothing over the expanse of tan stomach. Gaara wasn't really thinking doing that _now_ out in the middle of a _field_, was he?

He must have because Naruto found his breath being knocked out of him as a hand wrapped around his length, arching his back into a fairly nice bow. As his mind fought to come down from that simple amazing bliss, he noticed that clothes were in the process of being removed. He helped Gaara get out of his mesh, thankful that the boy had worn a simple shirt and pants today instead of his burgundy uniform.

He kicked his way out of his own pants and boxers, throwing his jacket somewhere a few feet from him. The golden glow of the sun caught Gaara's eyes and turned them into a vibrant yellow as the boy sunk, without warning or any sort of preparation, onto Naruto's half-hardened length.

Gaara cried out in a mix of agony and pleasure, tears continuing to trickle gently from his eyes. Naruto nearly bit his own tongue in half as the feeling of the redhead's soft warmth enveloped him so intensely. He forcibly stilled his hips and raised a hand to caress the side of Gaara' face, wiping away stray tears.

"That was pretty stupid, don't you think?" he murmured, a cool breeze blowing through the wheat, causing goose bumps to rise up on his skin. Gaara said nothing but rose himself up on his knees and lowered himself back down slowly, bottom lip caught roughly between white teeth.

Naruto stopped talking then, taken over by the extreme pleasure rushing through his body and the adrenaline in his veins. He grasped the redhead's slim hips as the boy continued to ride him in a slow, steady pace, soft pants issuing from his lips.

His eyes became slits as he gazed up at the sight before him. Gaara was alit in a fiery glow, his skin almost seeming to sparkle with golden moisture. The highlights in his hair stood out brilliantly against his pale skin, the sun directly in front of him tinting his teal eyes with wisps of yellow. His mouth was parted and Naruto could barely see the soft pink of tongue behind sharp teeth. His body rocked and shuddered with the force of his release, mouth opening in a silent cry.

Naruto followed shortly after, his brain working through the pleasant fog of pleasure and he was asking himself, how? How could he have _not_ been physically attracted to the boy above him? It all seemed impossible now.

Gaara raised himself off of Naruto, falling back down to slump onto the other's chest, completely wiped of energy. Lips sought out his own and Naruto parted his lips, allowing Gaara's warm tongue to invade his mouth. The kiss was long and slow, a sort of desperation hidden behind it.

"What was that kiss for?" Naruto asked tongue in cheek, feeling quite playful at the moment.

"So when you're not with me, you never _really_ leave me," the redhead whispered, pulling away, fingers gently tracing the fresh ink on his wrist.

Naruto fell silent, letting the last warm rays of the sun warm their spent bodies. He wrapped an arm around the other's waist and brought him closer. He began to hum once more underneath his breath, this time the song slow and quiet. Silently, the sun slipped away and the night came to life. And quietly, beneath skin and muscles and tissue, a heart followed suit. The only thing that hinted at this sudden change was how mint eyes softened considerably before quietly slipping closed.

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**Author's Note: The last chapter of _Carnal Attraction_ should be up not far from now. I've started working on it in my spare time but haven't got much progress done. Now that exams are over, I'm sure my teachers are going to cram some more knowledge down my throat so bear with me.**

**One again, chapter is largely unbeta'ed so if you see any large mistakes, please inform me.**

**MoM**


	18. Beating Hearts Grow but Never Die

**Carnal Attraction**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: This is the last and final chapter of Carnal Attraction. It's been fun, that's all I can say. There were many times during the writing of this that I seriously considered abandoning it, but never voiced my own concerns. I'm glad I stuck with it in the end, quite satisfied with the outcome. It was one of my New Year's Resolutions to not abandon a fic once in progress and I hope to stick by that.**

**In the meantime, now that this is out, I was hit with yet another plot idea and yet another chapter fic. :face palms: There really is no end to the madness, is there? So, you're all welcome to follow me that-a-way, granted that I get the first chapter of the new one up.**

**Quick little summary: It's Yondaime-centric and though it will be somewhat of a romance (with Sasuke) it's going to be more of a drama. It's not a pedophile fic and it's set in a parallel universe, one where Minato doesn't die. I know, I know, could that plot be any more over-used? A more detailed summary will be put in my profile when it comes to me.**

**Mood Song: Relax (Take it Easy) by Mika. Such a fun song to type to!**

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**Chapter 18: Beating Hearts Grow but Never Die**

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Naruto ignored the sharp branch that cut deep into his leg as he raced past, his body screaming in exhaustion but he hurried nonetheless. He knew, deep in his gut, it was a bad idea to train so early in the morning, knowing he would be so wiped out he would end up falling asleep at the training grounds. Now, because of his "short" nap, he was late to see Gaara off.

He gathered chakra in his feet and pushed himself harder, desperate to get to the Konoha gates before the Suna party set out for the journey back to their own village. Gaara had told him that morning as they lay side by side in bed, well Naruto was more laying diagonal but I digress, that they were leaving around noon in case he wanted to say goodbye.

At the time, Naruto didn't feel the need to say anything, not really wanting to _have_ to say goodbye to his lover. But after the night before, he was sure it wasn't going to be goodbye for long.

He felt his stomach grumble as his acute sense of smell, thanks to Kyuubi, caught whiff of food cooking. He was nearing the village. Turning a sharp left, he raced parallel to the rooftops he could make out in between the trees, heading in the direction of the gates.

Hurtling from the foliage, right before he crashed into a tree, he hopped across the rooftops, ignoring the startled complaints from the occupants inside. He could make out the gates from here and….woah, that was a lot of people. It seemed most the majority of the village had shown up, including most of the shinobi, to see off the Kazekage.

A flash of red at the front of the group told Naruto exactly where Gaara was. Sweeping along to the outside of the group, he hopped from a tree, the branches shaking from impact, hit the ground with a light _thump_ and in the same movement, pulled Gaara to him and crushed their lips together.

The redhead emitted a startled gasp and his sand rustled impatiently but upon realizing who was kissing him, fell into him, parting their mouths. Naruto could hear the murmurs sweep through the crowd, rumors already forming of how their demon container was making out with the Kazekage.

He broke away after a moment, laughing breathlessly. "You said you wanted me to come tell you goodbye before you left."

The corner of Gaara's mouth quirked upwards and he leaned forward to capture Naruto's lips once more, once again stirring up the crowd. Naruto waved over Gaara's shoulder at the group; a catcall sounding from somewhere and Naruto would bet his last bowl of ramen it was Kiba goofing off.

He brought Gaara up into a sweeping, back-breaking hug and was almost ready to carry him back to his apartment and lock him up somewhere, but Tsunade intercepted them, calmly prying the clingy blond shinobi from the other.

Naruto shot her a sheepish smile and she shook her head disapprovingly before admitting defeat and letting her own smile cover her face. Nevertheless, she held him back by the wrist as Naruto stared longingly at the object of his affection, who was flanked by his bodyguard and his brother, Kankuro

He watched in mild amusement as the latter huffed in impatience at being stopped once again as his younger brother nearly tripped over his own feet to latch back onto Naruto's already swollen mouth, panting fast.

"You'll be here when I come again." Naruto could tell it was meant more of a general statement than a question and he grinned cheekily.

"Yeah, that is if I'm not killed on a mission or something but you know me, that's not going to happen anytime in the near future."

Gaara allowed a small smile to flit over his face, for only Naruto to see, and pressed his lips gently to the corner of his mouth. "I love you." Naruto whispered it back into his ear, giving it a small sensual lick.

"Hell Gaara, why don't you just stay here? It doesn't seem like we're going to get to leave anytime soon," Kankuro berated from in front of them.

"I'm coming," Gaara deadpanned, setting his jaw and pivoting on his heel, long Kage robes swishing around his feet. Naruto turned also, pushing back through the crowd before clenching his fists at his side.

"I love you Sabaku no Gaara!" he yelled none-too-softly. The crowd murmured and parted as their notorious prankster of the village passed through, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. He was pretty sure a small wave of sand whacked him upside the head but he ignored it, not wanting to delay the redhead once more.

Sakura was waiting off to the side, her jaw dropped in a nice resemblance of a fish. He grinned at her sheepishly, running a hand through her hair. Sasuke was to her side, looking a bit put-out that it was _now _that he was finding out about Naruto's new…significant other.

"So…Naruto, anything you would like to say to us?" Sakura trailed off menacingly, placing her hands on her hips. Sasuke said nothing but still looked just as menacing standing there. Naruto threw an arm over each of their shoulders and propelled the three of them in the direction of town.

"I'm hungry for ramen," he stated simply. He let his head fall back and mouth part in silent happiness and his two companions rolled their eyes at his childish behavior.

"So….how was sex, Naruto?" Sasuke questioned tongue in cheek, ignoring Sakura who was making a cutting motion across her throat with a finger. Naruto's head snapped up and his eyes began to take on a look of insanity.

"It was ah-mazing!" he exclaimed, obviously not embarrassed about sharing his newfound sex-life with his two best friends. Sakura sighed loudly and hung her head, already beginning to tune his loud voice out and Sasuke started to regret even asking.

Naruto didn't seem to notice. Fingertips twitched but in this moment, it was out of unimaginable joy. Evolving into a slow-growing disease of galaxies on fire.

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**Author's Note: Not entirely sure where that last line came from. Just kind of felt like waxing poetic. Well, this is the end of Carnal Attraction, I hope you've enjoyed the ride.**

**I would like to thank all you reviewers and readers for being so faithful and patient for my updates. You guys are truly the best. If I had cookies, I would share them with all of you.**

**I'll be taking a small break from posting until I get the plot worked out for my fic-in-progress. But upon my return, I'm sure you'll know I'm back.**

**:D**

**On a separate note: Happy Birthday Minato-Papa otherwise known as Mr. Yondaime Hokage!**

**Love, hugs, and shizzit.**

**MoM**


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